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Tag: right wing
LGBTQ Transgender

Fox Staged A Freakout Fest Over Fabricated Biden 'Attack On Easter'

President Joe Biden expressed his belief that trans Americans deserve to live their lives in safety and dignity in a Friday proclamation and Sunday statement marking the Transgender Day of Visibility. But the right-wing demagogues at Fox News and Newsmax apparently disagree with that sentiment — they have spent the last few days furiously denouncing Biden’s statements, which they describe as an affront to Christians because Transgender Visibility Day, celebrated annually on March 31, happened to fall on Easter Sunday this year.

Fox News devoted 2 hours and 19 minutes, including 37 full segments, to freaking out over Transgender Visibility Day’s overlap with Easter Sunday as its propagandists slammed Biden for recognizing the former, according to a Media Matters review of the network’s programming from March 30 through April 1. Newsmax chimed in with another 1 hour and 45 minutes on the subject, including 40 segments, over the same period.

Stars at both networks used the time to warn Christians that they were under attack from Biden’s statements recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility. Fox’s Jesse Watters argued that Biden is “waging spiritual warfare against Christianity,” and complained that “the trans thing is over” because “we have accommodated the trans for quite some time.” His colleague Laura Ingraham said Biden had put “egg on his faith” by “commemorat[ing] godlessness” through his “demonic” actions. “Easter has now been replaced or at the very least, is now forced to share a day with a new holiday that the administration clearly prefers,” Sean Hannity declared. Over at Newsmax, Eric Bolling cited the situation as evidence of a “spiritual war” and an “all-out attack on Christian faith.”

It’s worth comparing the hateful bile spewed by the right-wing media to Biden’s actual message.

“On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives,” Biden’s Friday proclamation began. “Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back.”

The president added on Sunday that “transgender Americans deserve to be safe and supported in every community,” and denounced “MAGA extremists” for trying to pass “hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families.” He termed such legislation “un-American,” highlighted mental health resources available to transgender youths, and promised that his administration will “never stop working to create a world where everyone can live without fear.”

“I want every member of the trans community to know that we see you,” he concluded. “You’re each made in the image of God, and deserve love, dignity, and respect. You make America stronger, and we’re with you.”

Biden’s message is in keeping with the traditional American creed, first set forth in the Declaration of Independence’s resolution “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” America’s greatness comes in part because its leaders have sought to expand that circle over time so that it brings in previously excluded groups like women, people of color, and LGBTQ people. Trans Americans, to Biden, deserve the same rights and privileges and should be treated with the same respect as any other citizen of this country.

This need not be a controversial sentiment or one which attracts a vitriolic response. Indeed, Fox News is going to great lengths to avoid acknowledging that its corporate cousins at Fox TV celebrated Transgender Visibility Day in 2021, tweeting, “Trans Day of Visibility is dedicated to celebrating transgender people, their contributions to society and raising awareness of discrimination they face. To all the transgender men, women and non-binary folx, we see you and stand with you.”

But Fox and Newsmax hosts, like their Trumpist media brethren, are the “MAGA extremists” Biden called out in his statement. They’ve spent years spreading hateful, bigoted attacks against transgender people and any person or entity associated with them. As propagandists for a movement that merges a cult of personality around Trump, blood-and-soil nationalism that mocks our civic tradition, and a theocratic brand of Christianity focused on perceived slights, they met Biden’s remarks with days of outrage.

That Biden also issued a Sunday statement celebrating Easter as a time to “remember Jesus’ sacrifice” and appeared Monday morning at the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn was apparently insufficient.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, recently seen hawking his own line of Bibles and preparing for his upcoming trial over paying hush money to a porn star so she wouldn’t say they had an affair during his third and current marriage, marked the day of Christ’s resurrection by posting unhinged rants on Truth Social, including this gem nominally celebrating Easter:

That behavior, apparently, is just fine to his supporters at Fox and Newsmax.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Leonard Leo

GOP Lashes Out At D.C. Attorney General Probing Extremist Profiteer Leo

GOP activist Leonard Leo is co-chair of the influential Federalist Society, which has produced all six of the Supreme Court of the United States' (SCOTUS) conservative jurists — including Chief Justice John Roberts. And ever since the office of Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb started investigating the Federalist Society for alleged violations of its nonprofit status, Leo's allies have been attacking him every step of the way.

Politico reporter Heidi Przybyla wrote Saturday that Schwalb has been steadily battling an onslaught of GOP attacks that include conservative media, 12 Republican state attorneys general and even Congressional committee chairs. This assault began last August, after Schwalb announced he was investigating the Federalist Society for alleged self-dealing. Leo is accused of using millions of dollars in tax-exempt organization funds to prop up his private consulting firm, CRC Advisors.

According to the outlet, both Reps. James Comer (R-KY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH), who chair the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, respectively, announced their own investigations into Schwalb on October 30 — shortly after Schwalb announced his own investigation into Leo's group. One of Leo's organizations is the Concord Fund (previously known as the Judicial Crisis Network), which has donated $20 million to the Republican Attorneys General Association since 2014. And Przybyla noted that 10 days before Comer and Jordan announced their investigation, Concord hired a Virginia-based lobbying firm to handle issues relating to "law enforcement" and "oversight."

"The decision to launch a probe was not influenced by the lobbying firm," a spokesperson for the House Judiciary Committee told Politico. "Any suggestion that it was is lazy, in bad faith, and completely ridiculous. It’s well-known that this probe is part of a broader portfolio the congressmen are pursuing related to the weaponization of the federal government."

While the suggestion that Leo's money and connections are influencing the attacks on the man investigating him makes Republicans bristle, it's difficult to ignore the timing of large sums of money changing hands. Just one day after both Comer and Jordan threatened to subpoena Schwalb, a House Republican leadership-aligned political action committee received a $250,000 contribution from the Concord Fund. Politico reported that it was Concord's first donation to a federal PAC in nine years.

Republicans' ferocity in attacking Schwalb could be attributed to Leo's outsized influence over today's GOP — particularly as it concerns the GOP's efforts to cement a conservative SCOTUS majority for decades.

"[Leo] has been called former President Donald Trump’s 'court whisperer' for helping to choose and advocate for his Supreme Court nominees," Przybyla wrote. "His aligned network of tax-exempt nonprofits is also a major contributor to Project 2025, an initiative seeking to create a 'government in waiting' for another Trump term."

Caroline Ciccone, who is president of anti-corruption watchdog group Accountability.US, directly attributed the various attacks on Schwalb to Leo's far-right organizational muscle.

"Leonard Leo is working to implement policies with a vision that’s far too extreme for most Americans," Ciccone said. "Now, members of Congress have weaponized their government power against his critics."

In addition to being investigated for self-dealing by Schwalb's office, Leo's group is also being investigated by the Senate Judiciary Committee for its alleged facilitation of lavish gifts to far-right justices like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. In late November, the committee sent subpoenas to both Leo and billionaire business magnate Harlan Crow, who took Justice Thomas and his family on several exceedingly expensive getaways.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Mike Johnson

'Right-Wing Civil War' Erupts Again As Greene Moves To Oust Speaker

On Friday morning, March 22, the news broke that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) had triggered a "motion to vacate" against House Spear Mike Johnson (R-LA).

Greene and other far-right House Republicans are angry with Johnson over his willingness to negotiate a spending bill with President Joe Biden in order to prevent a partial government shutdown. In 2023, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) triggered a "motion to vacate" against then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for that same reason, and he was ousted as speaker.

Greene told reporters, "It's time for us to go through the process, take our time, and find a new speaker of the House that will stand with Republicans and our Republican majority instead of standing with the Democrats."

Greene's move is receiving plenty of reactions on X, formerly Twitter.

Writer/blogger Brian Krassenstein tweeted, "Is the GOP really this discombobulated? How can we expect a party to lead the country if they can't even govern themselves? It will be interesting to see what happens next. "

The group Occupy Democrats commented, "A right-wing civil war is breaking out and this one is looking very ugly."

Author Keith Boykin posted, "Marjorie Taylor Greene files a motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson for allowing a bipartisan vote to fund the government. Republicans are in disarray again. They are not a serious governing party. They are a grievance party."

The group Republicans Against Trump wrote, "I'm starting to think this Republican party can't govern."

Democratic activist Victor Shi posted, "Let’s this straight: Democrats just saved Republicans & kept our government open AGAIN. 112 Republicans voted against keeping our government open & Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened to vacate Mike Johnson. They are a joke. Democrats are the real adults & saved the day."

Another Democratic activist, Harry Sisson, tweeted, "HAHAHA: Marjorie Taylor Greene has filed a motion to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson! The Republicans are in utter chaos! When Republicans control any chamber of government NOTHING gets done and you’re seeing that right now. Let’s vote out these clowns in 2024!"

X user Peggy Gabour tweeted, "Bunch of whiners. MTG wants to be the center of attention. She's a traitor. GA needs to get rid of her.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Christian Nationalist Group's Secret Documents Promise Apocalyptic Violence

Christian Nationalist Group's Secret Documents Promise Apocalyptic Violence

In a recent article, The Guardian's Jason Wilson detailed the links between the Claremont Institute — a right-wing think tank — and a "shadowy" Christian nationalist group called the Society for American Civil Renewal (SACR).

Claremont, founded in 1979, was once a traditional conservative outfit that championed the ideas of Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) and President Ronald Reagan. But in recent years, Claremont has taken a decidedly MAGA turn that critics have described as extreme and authoritarian. And Wilson's March 11 article illustrated Claremont's willingness to embrace the far-right fringe.

Now Wilson follows up his earlier report with another Guardian article — this time, describing newly revealed documents that "shed light on" the "secretive" SACR's "origins and inner workings."

The documents, Wilson reports in an article published on March 19, address "methods for judging the beliefs of potential members on topics such as Christian nationalism, and indications that its founders sought inspiration in an apartheid-era South African white men-only group, the Afrikaner-Broederbond."

Wilson explains, "(The documents) also show that Boise State University Professor and Claremont think tank scholar Scott Yenor tried to coordinate SACR's activities with other initiatives, including an open letter on 'Christian marriage.' One expert says that one of the new documents — some previously reported in Talking Points Memo — use biblical references that suggest a preparedness for violent struggle against the current 'regime.'"

According to Wilson, the "origins" of SACR "appear to date to the latter half of 2020" — and there are "indications that the inner circle of the group sought inspiration from earlier iterations of Christian nationalism in authoritarian states."

"In the early part of 2021," Wilson explains, "Yenor drafted documents that firmed up SACR's purpose and character. To a 27 April 2021 e-mail sent to himself and his wife at her employment address, Yenor attached a document entitled 'Working Membership and Recruiting Guide for Chapter Leadership.' In spelling out SACR’s rules, the document reveals the high value the organization places on secrecy."

Wilson notes that the SACR material has a "patriarchal edge," calling for "taking ownership as head of the household in terms of leading regular prayer and spiritual reading and reflection."

The Guardian discussed the SACR documents with Bradley Onishi, author of the 2023 book Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism — and What Comes Next.

According to Onishi, the prayers described in SACR documents may include "coded" biblical references to violence.

Onishi told The Guardian, "What happens when the walls fall down? Joshua's men go in and kill everyone: men, children, women, animals. It's an attempted genocide, right? In that prayer, they're saying we're Joshua's men. We're the type of men who trust God. And when God, when God gives us the signal, we're going to go kill everybody. That's what we do.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.