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Tag: pete sessions
Greene Joins Extremists Pushing 'Transsexual' Lies About Uvalde Killer

Greene Joins Extremists Pushing 'Transsexual' Lies About Uvalde Killer

Emboldened by her successive victories in court and the GOP primary in Georgia, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has joined the list of House Republicans deploying shockingly baseless conspiracy theory that the Uvalde gunman was transgender in a bid to deflect public attention elsewhere and stunt the growing calls for common-sense gun reforms.

On Sunday, Greene, a known far-right conspiracy theorist, started a Facebook Live — which she titled “Something doesn’t add up” — before 9:30 pm and quickly began pushing an utterly unfounded rumor, without evidence, that Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos “clearly had a lot of mental issues going on, as was shown with him wearing eyeliner, cross-dressing, a lot of his language, being a loner.”

Since the massacre, new details have continued to emerge about Ramos, but there’s been nothing to suggest that the gunman was transgender or had been crossdressing, as Greene had claimed, without evidence. According to the Independent, the rumor appeared to have originated on 4chan, a hotbed of right-wing conspiracies, where extremist netizens falsely blamed a transgender woman for the shooting. However, the woman whom the 4chan users accused did not live in Texas and did not bear any significant resemblance to Ramos.

Greene isn’t the only Republican spreading false rumors about the deceased 18-year-old suspect’s identity. MAGA fanatic and anti-vaxxer Candace Owens and Republican Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Pete Sessions (R-TX) have disseminated variants of the same rumor on social media and in interviews.

However, Greene went further down the conspiratorial rabbit hole than the others did, as is her style. She claimed — without evidence, of course — that Ramos had been in the same Discord server as Payton Gendron, the teen charged in connection with the recent massacre at a supermarket in Buffalo, a majo black neighborhood.

Eventually Greene issued a disclaimer on her live stream, stating that she had been unable to verify the information she was peddling on air.

The Georgian congresswoman didn’t stop there, though. She pushed the misinformation still further, claiming that an unidentified party was “grooming” young men into mass shooters, inching towards a conspiracy that QAnon is founded on — that former President Trump, a hero, is facing down a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles in government. The conspiracy theory is a staple used by conservatives to slander the LGBTQ community, as well.

Just hours after the shooting, in response to a tweet that claimed Ramos supported right-wing House members, Gosar wrote, and later deleted, a tweet claiming the shooter was a “transsexual” illegal immigrant.

"We know already fool. It's a transsexual leftist illegal alien named Salvatore Ramos. It's apparently your kind of trash," Gosar tweeted.

The Arizonian would later delete his tweet, but it’s not his first social media attack on Democrats or left-leaning Americans. "The Democratic party is the party of hatred. They hate America, they hate people who love America, and they hate the religion and the descendants of the people who built America," Gosar tweeted on Monday.

Another Arizona Republican, Josh Barnette, who is challenging incumbent Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) for his House seat, publicly questioned whether or not Ramos was in the United States legally, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that the gunman was a citizen of the United States.

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.

Rep. McCarthy Likely House Majority Leader As Sessions Drops Out

Rep. McCarthy Likely House Majority Leader As Sessions Drops Out

By Michael Doyle, William Douglas and Maria Recio, McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The race for House majority leader abruptly ended Thursday night when Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, one of two Republicans seeking the post, dropped out.

Sessions folded his campaign almost as quickly as it emerged following the shocking primary defeat Tuesday of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia. Sessions was considered something of a long shot against his competition, Rep. Kevin McCarthy(R-CA), the House majority whip and now the presumptive majority leader.

In a statement Thursday night, the Texas congressman said that he wanted to avoid a divisive battle in the House Republican Conference.

“After thoughtful consideration and discussion with my colleagues, I have made the decision to not continue my run for House majority leader,” Sessions said. “Today, it became obvious to me that the measures necessary to run a successful campaign would have created unnecessary and painful division within our party. At this critical time, we must remain unified as a Republican Conference. As always, I stand ready and willing to work with our team to advance the conservative agenda that the American people demand and deserve.”

From a standing start late Tuesday following Cantor’s loss, McCarthy and Sessions had deployed every tool in the political manual to win the second most powerful job in the House. They organized whip teams, gathered endorsements, lobbied state delegations and squeezed their colleagues one-on-one.

Cantor had endorsed McCarthy, his second-in-command. Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio had stayed neutral.

Sessions’ withdrawal caps an unexpectedly eventful week on Capitol Hill. Cantor’s defeat by Dave Brat, an unknown and underfunded college professor backed by the tea party, was the kind of political shocker rarely seen in Washington. Cantor announced he would give up his leadership post, and he’ll leave Congress in January.

With a deep network of supporters and a record of generously spreading around campaign funds to his colleagues, McCarthy had been the odds-on favorite for the job.

Sessions, a veteran of nearly two decades on Capitol Hill, is chairman of the House Rules Committee. He successfully led the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP campaign arm, in the 2010 and 2012 election cycles.

He appeared to have strong support from his home state delegation. Following a meeting of its Republican members Thursday, Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX) said in an interview, “I didn’t hear any naysayers in the room.”

That could have been because the vote next week for the new leadership slots will be a secret ballot, which can be an intensely personal decision, often based on personal loyalty. Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), who’s a deputy majority whip, is supporting McCarthy.

“The only way you can be certain of how someone is going to vote is if they look you in the eye and tell you they are voting against you,” Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) said earlier Thursday when it was still a two-man race.

McCarthy now appears to have clear sailing, although lawmakers on the right who hoped for more time to rally support have objected to the quick turnaround for the vote.

“This snap election has the effect of stacking the deck,” said Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

McCarthy will have to work closely with the victor of a separate contest for majority whip, a post McCarthy has held since 2011. The field grew more congested Thursday.

From the right, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) was already running against Rep. Peter Roskam, an Illinois Republican who’s served as McCarthy’s chief deputy whip. A third candidate, Indiana Republican Marlin Stutzman, jumped into the race Thursday, complicating Scalise’s bid for support from the House’s most conservative members.

Photo: House GOP via Flickr

Race For Eric Cantor’s Post May Be Between Californian, Texan

Race For Eric Cantor’s Post May Be Between Californian, Texan

By Evan Halper and Richard Simon, Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — California and Texas bicker over so many things — who has the better scenery, the better jobs, the better quality of life.

Now, the quarrel between the most and second-most populous states is shifting to a bare-knuckle battle over who can claim the more powerful Republican congressman.

After a titanic Tea Party upheaval in Virginia cost House Majority Leader Eric Cantor his seat, the emerging front-runners to replace him Wednesday were House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, a California native, and Pete Sessions, out of Waco, Texas.

Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee, is a longtime ally of the Texas political establishment. McCarthy made his mark as a foil to the Democrats who dominate California. He is among those who argue Sacramento should restructure its state government to look more like the one in Austin, Texas.

McCarthy rails against endangered species protections. He crusades against California’s high-speed rail project. He helped inspire the budget brinkmanship that forced a partial shutdown of the federal government for 16 days last fall, closing national parks, delaying oil drilling permits and furloughing 850,000 workers.

McCarthy hasn’t said yet whether he will run, although Cantor all but endorsed him Wednesday, telling reporters that McCarthy would be an outstanding House majority leader, a position second only to the House speaker.

The challenge for McCarthy, assuming he runs, will be proving he is conservative enough for the rebels in his party. Sessions charged out of the gate Wednesday, declaring his rival is not.

Asked his strengths over McCarthy, Sessions called himself a “well-known conservative” who will push for an agenda “that is conservative, that is pro-business and solves the problems of the country.”

Many in the Tea Party are not thrilled with either one, however. They are pushing another Texan, Rep. Jeb Hensarling, to run. Hensarling, who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, indicated he was mulling it over. [Editor’s note: Hensarling announced on Thursday that he will not run.]

If McCarthy runs and wins, he will leave a potential opening in the whip slot for Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois, who now ranks fourth in his party’s leadership and was recently appointed to a new House committee that will examine the 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attacks.

Whether the Tea Partiers will endorse Roskam, or rally around an expected challenger from a reliably red state, is far from clear.

McCarthy’s district includes most of Bakersfield, as well as most of the Antelope Valley. First elected in 2006, he quickly rose in the ranks and was selected by his colleagues as majority whip in 2010, catapulting him to a position of prominence in the GOP.

He is a prodigious fundraiser, widely praised by colleagues for helping their campaigns and for presiding as a kind of informal social director. He hosts movie nights, bike rides around Washington and other bonding opportunities for his caucus.

“Kevin starts out as the front-runner,” said Kurt Bardella, a Republican strategist and former House aide. “Kevin is all about coalition building and building personal relationships with members of his caucus.”

Inside the GOP, however, being from Texas is tough to beat.

“We’ve had these fights between California and Texas before,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), who is rooting for McCarthy. “California used to have the leverage, and I think that Texas has the leverage now.”

Adding to the Californian’s challenge, the Republican caucus is restless. Some conservatives hope to leverage Cantor’s defeat into a broader purge of GOP leadership altogether.

“We’ve got to change the entire leadership team,” said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, a Tea Partier. “This has probably emboldened a lot of folks who didn’t think it was possible.”

Potential contenders frantically shifted their strategies as events unfolded and rumors spread Wednesday. Cantor’s replacement will be chosen next week, meaning the campaign to succeed him will be short and intense.

McCarthy is a longtime ally of Cantor’s. Much of the work they did together, ironically, was in pursuit of helping elect the type of conservative lawmakers who now label them sellouts.

McCarthy has amassed nearly $3 million in his campaign war chest. He is likely to share it with colleagues facing tough races this fall, helping him lock up votes for his own race as majority leader.

In recent years, California had its greatest clout in Congress when Democrat Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco liberal, was speaker from 2007 to 2011, the only woman ever to serve in the post.

McCarthy sits opposite Pelosi on the political spectrum, and his likely effect on the state would be very different.

His signature issues include easing environmental rules that limit use of water by Central California farmers. He is also a close ally of the oil and gas industry, and pushes for policies that preserve its ability to conduct hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in California.

An infusion of federal spending to California would be unlikely.

McCarthy would be under pressure from party activists to cut the budget, not increase it. And he would represent a party that shows considerable disdain for a large liberal state with some of the country’s most generous government programs.

Photo: House GOP via Flickr