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'Absolute Bloodbath' Roils RNC As Trump Seizes Control Amid Purge Of Party

'Absolute Bloodbath' Roils RNC As Trump Seizes Control Amid Purge Of Party

With Ronna Romney McDaniel gone, the Republican National Committee (RNC) now has the ultra-MAGA leadership that Donald Trump wanted — including Trump loyalist Michael Whatley replacing McDaniel as chair and Lara Trump as co-chair.

But the changes at the RNC go beyond Whatley (who formerly chaired the North Carolina Republican Party) and Lara Trump, who is married to Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump.

According to Politico's Alex Isenstadt and The Guardian's Hugo Lowell, mass firings are underway — a purge a GOP source described as an "absolute bloodbath."

Lowell, in an article published by The Guardian on March 11, reports, "Donald Trump's new leadership team at the Republican National Committee started the process of ousting scores of staffers on Monday night, clearing out its ranks as they prepare to bring the Committee under the wing of the Trump 2024 presidential campaign, sources familiar with the matter said.

"The RNC, according to Lowell, "is expected to cull about 60 people across the political, data and communications departments."

"At least five members of the senior staff will be let go," Lowell explains, "and some third-party contracts may also be cancelled…. In ousting large swathes of the RNC, the new chair, Michael Whatley, and the new co-chair, Lara Trump — the former president's daughter-in-law — moved to reorganize the Republican Party's central committee to fall squarely behind the Trump campaign just days after they were formally elected."

Lowell adds, "The RNC is being brought under the Trump campaign to such an extent, the sources said, that the firings are mainly to ensure there is no overlap in roles between the RNC and the campaign. The Trump campaign, for instance, already has robust political and communications teams."

Isenstadt, reporting for Politico, notes that "Trump advisers have described the RNC's structure as overly bloated and bureaucratic."

"The RNC had about $8 million at the end of December, only about one-third as much as the Democratic National Committee," Isenstadt reports. "Under the new structure, the Trump campaign is looking to merge its operations with the RNC. Key departments, such as communications, data and fundraising, will effectively be one and the same."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'Biggest Disaster': Republicans Blast Their Own State Of The Union Response

'Biggest Disaster': Republicans Blast Their Own State Of The Union Response

President Joe Biden was forceful, aggressive and focused during his State of the Union address on Thursday night, March 7, tackling everything from abortion rights and Obamacare to military aide for Ukraine. Biden never mentioned likely GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump by name during his speech, only referring to him as "my predecessor." Yet he made a strong case for rejecting MAGA policies in the November election.

Biden's SOTU was followed by a rebuttal from Sen. Katie Britt (R-Alabama). Democrats, not surprisingly, have been attacking Britt's speech as a weak response to a fiery, on-target address. But the criticism is not only coming from members of Biden's party.

The Daily Beast's Jake Lahut, in an article published the next morning, stresses that Britt's speech was so bad that even Republicans are slamming it.

"The freshman senator is considered a rising star in the party," Lahut explains. "But her speech’s intense tone — with an over-the-top dramatic cadence that was delivered in a kitchen — left political operatives and observers struggling to make sense of it. In particular, some Republicans watched the high-profile speech with a grimace."

Lahut notes that Britt has been mentioned a possible running mate for Trump but may have endangered that possibility because of her March 7 rebuttal.

A GOP "operative," interviewed on condition of anonymity, told the Beast, "Everyone's fucking losing it. It's one of our biggest disasters ever."

Another Republican insider told the Beast that Britt "lowered her stature" with the rebuttal. And former GOP strategist Tim Miller, a Never Trump conservative who is supporting Biden, slammed Britt's speech as "creepy."

Conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as White House communications director under Trump but endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, is criticizing Britt's speech as well — although not as intensely as others on the right.

On X, formerly Twitter, Griffin posted, "Senator Katie Britt is a very impressive person. She ran a hell of race in [Alabama],” a former Trump White House communications adviser and Nikki Haley supporter posted on X. “I do not understand the decision to put her in a KITCHEN for one of the most important speeches she’s ever given."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Medical Experts See 'Gross Signs Of Dementia' Whenever Trump Speaks

Medical Experts See 'Gross Signs Of Dementia' Whenever Trump Speaks

Right-have media outlets have been obsessed with 81-year-old President Joe Biden's age, often conflating his gaffes with mental impairment while portraying 77-year-old Donald Trump as youthful and energetic — and either ignoring or downplaying Trump's verbal difficulties, such as confusing former South Carolina Nikki Haley with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) during a recent speech.

Salon's Chauncey DeVega makes a Biden/Trump comparison in an article published on March 7 and reports that Trump's problems, according to medical experts, are much worse.

"Whatever one may think of Donald Trump the political leader, and all of the evil and vile things he has done in that capacity, he is a human being who appears to be in crisis," DeVega warns. "Moreover, that Donald Trump is leading President Biden in the polls and has a real chance of becoming the next president of the United States should be a source of great alarm for anyone who claims to care about the wellbeing of the country and its future."

One of the Salon interviewees quoted in DeVega's report is Dr. John Gartner, a psychologist and former professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Gartner told Salon, "Not enough people are sounding the alarm that based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented. In fact, we are seeing the opposite among too many in the news media, the political leaders and among the public. There is also this focus on Biden's gaffes or other things that are well within the normal limits of aging. By comparison, Trump appears to be showing gross signs of dementia. This is a tale of two brains: Biden's brain is aging, Trump's brain is dementing."

Harry Segal of Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical School notes that Trump's campaign speeches have been increasingly "erratic."

Segal told Salon, "In the past six months, Trump's rallies are filled with strange lapses of logic. He has confused Biden with (Barack) Obama, spoke of World War 2, and has lapsed into bewildering digressions that are hard to follow. Only this weekend, he said, 'We have languages coming into our country that no one can speak' — a strange grasping for meaning, bordering on neologism. At other times, he seems to get lost in the middle of a sentence."

Vincent Greenwood, executive director of the Washington Center For Cognitive Therapy, argues that Trump is showing "confusion with increasing regularity."

Greenwood told Salon, "We all stumble over and mispronounce words occasionally. This is not what is going on with Trump. The incidence of these kinds of mistakes takes him into this realm of phonemic paraphasia, which is a sign of underlying brain damage, not just aging. Even when compared to his speech of a few years ago, you can observe a noticeable difference. When you compare it to his speech as a middle-aged man, the shift is radical and ominous."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Lara Trump

Lara Trump Bullies Republicans Who Aren't 'On Board' With Former Guy

Friday, March 8 will mark the end of Ronna Romney McDaniel's time as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), and former President Donald Trump is recommending Michael Whatley (who chairs the North Carolina GOP) as McDaniel's replacement and Lara Trump (his daughter-in-law) as RNC co-chair.

Lara Trump has drawn criticism from some conservatives for vowing, during an interview with Newsmax's Rob Schmitt in February, that "every single penny" of RNC money "will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC — that is electing Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country."

Lara Trump, according to former RNC Chairman Michael Steele and other critics, is doing Republicans in down-ballot races a major disservice.

But the MAGA activist isn't backing down from her promise to prioritize her father-in-law's 2024 campaign over everything else. And she is threatening to disown any Republicans who aren't on board.

During an early March appearance on Real America's Voice, Lara Trump warned, "I can assure you, there will be no funny business. Anyone who is not on board with seeing Donald Trump as the 47th president and America-loving patriots all the way down the ticket being supported by the RNC is welcome to leave, because we are not playing games. And we have no time to waste."

Lara Trump continued, "So, we have to ensure that every single penny of every dollar donated goes to causes people care about. That's part of the reason that I think I'm such a great fit for this: There's no one more loyal to Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again movement than this person you’re looking at right here — than me."

Steele has been arguing that Lara Trump fails to understand the duties of being an RNC co-chair.

On MSNBC's The Weekend in February, Steele told host Alicia Menendez, "The number one responsibility of the RNC (is not) to elect Donald Trump. The number one responsibility is to elect every candidate who's on the ballot on behalf of the party. It is to raise money for those candidates who are on the ballot."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Andy Beshear

Republican Legislators Want To Abolish Lunch Hour -- Seriously

In Kentucky, a bill sponsored by Republican State Rep. Phillip Pratt would, among other things, eliminate workers' rights to lunch breaks and rest breaks. House Bill 500 has been advancing in the Kentucky State Legislature, and Pratt's proposal — according to the Louisville Courier-Journal— is getting a scathing analysis from labor rights activists.

Louisville-based employment law attorney Michele Henry slammed HB 500 as "simply unfair to employees who are spending eight or more hours a day at the workplace."

Henry told the Courier-Journal, "They should be entitled to time off to eat and to engage in other activities. Eliminating breaks increases the chance of injuries and burnout."

Duane Hammons of the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet is vehemently critical of HB 500 as well.

Hammons told the Courier-Journal, "Paid breaks and mealtimes are essential workplace standards that contribute to the mental and physical wellbeing of each and every employee we have in this commonwealth…. Employers would have no liability for not paying employees who must travel to several locations for work, such as HVAC, repair work plumbers, electricians, landscapers, construction workers."

During a Kentucky House of Representatives hearing on HB 500, Jerald Adkins of the Kentucky AFL-CIO commented, "Why the sudden urgency to repeal laws that are in place to protect Kentucky's workers?"

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Rep. Mike Johnson

Suddenly Mike Johnson Is Worried About 'Extreme' GOP House Candidates

After Rep. Mike Johnson's (R-LA) confirmation as House Speaker, many reports focused on his far-right Christian nationalist views and efforts to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election results. Yet Johnson has avoided the bombastic, strident, brash style that is characteristic of so many MAGA Republicans. And the speaker, according to reporting in Politico, showed some pragmatism during a recent meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Johnson, Politico reporters Olivia Beavers and Ally Mutnick explain in an article published on March 1, is worried about the paltry size of his House majority — which has been shrinking thanks to a series of departures and resignations. And Johnson, during the meeting, encouraged the former president to get behind the more electable candidates in GOP primary races.

Johnson, Beavers and Mutnick report, was "making the case that certain extreme candidates could blow the party's chances in battleground districts with primaries this month."

"Johnson's requests included seeking the president's help neutralizing the controversial J.R. Majewski, who has roiled the GOP primary for a must-win Ohio swing seat," the Politico reporters note. "The House GOP leaders also inquired if Trump could endorse other candidates, including Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL), and updated him on their preferences in key upcoming primaries in California and North Carolina. Trump was generally receptive to their requests, according to three people familiar with the meeting who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about it."

Beavers and Mutnick continue, "Given Majewski's strong MAGA lean and Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) support for Bost's opponent, it was hardly a given. Overall, the meeting signaled that Johnson has developed a strategic partnership with the former president, who is again the de facto chief of the Republican Party."

Trump ended up endorsing Bost. But Johnson's challenge, according to Beavers and Mutnick, is to "avoid candidates like Majewski who risk blowing Republicans' chances in swing seats next fall" but without "alienating the ex-president."

Johnson discussed his meeting with Trump during a February 29 interview with Politico, saying, " We talked about Bost. He has always been a Trump supporter, and he agreed to endorse him. But I haven't spoken to him in detail about a lot of the other races."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

John Cornyn

'Hard To Run From Prison, Ken': Senator Rips Indicted Texas Attorney General

Former Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) is among the Senate Republicans who is being mentioned as a possible replacement for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who on Wednesday announced that he is retiring from that position. The 82-year-old McConnell plans to serve out the rest of his term, which doesn't end until January 3, 2027, but he is stepping down as GOP leader in the U.S. Senate in November.

Far-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is hoping that someone other than Cornyn will be chosen. Although the conservative Cornyn has endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Paxton believes that he isn't MAGA enough.

Paxton, who has been battling legal problems — including securities fraud charges — but survived an impeachment effort in the Texas legislature, attacked Cornyn in a February 28 post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Texas AG wrote, "It will be difficult for @JohnCornyn to be an effective leader since he is anti-Trump, anti-gun, and will be focused on his highly competitive primary campaign in 2026. Republicans deserve better in their next leader and Texans deserve another conservative Senator."

Cornyn, in response to Paxton's tweet, posted, "Hard to run from prison, Ken."

Paxton has been battling legal problems for almost a decade.

In 2015, Paxton was serving his first term as Texas attorney general when he was indicted on securities fraud charges And his legal problems have persisted; the case has been delayed but is scheduled to go to trial in April. Paxton, as Cornyn mentioned, is still in danger of going to prison.

Despite his legal problems, Paxton was reelected as state attorney general in 2018 and won a third term in 2022.

Paxton, in 2023, was impeached in the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives, and fellow Republicans argued that acts of corruption and allegations of bribery made him unfit to continue serving as Texas attorney general. But he was later acquitted in an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate, where Republicans also have a majority.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

 Lauren Boebert

Boebert Son Arrested, Booked On 22 Criminal Charges

Far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), who is seeking the GOP nomination to run for the U.S. House seat presently held by the retiring Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), has faced a long list of controversies. Now,Newsweek is reporting that Boebert's 18-yeare-old son, Tyler, was arrested on February 27 and is "facing 22 charges," according to the Rifle, Colorado Police Department.

Newsweek's James Bickerton reports that Tyler Boebert was booked into the Garfield County Jail. On Facebook, the Rifle Police Department posted that he was arrested "after a recent string of vehicle trespass and property thefts in Rifle" and added that the charges include "four felony counts of Criminal Possession ID Documents - Multiple Victims, one felony count of Conspiracy to Commit a Felony, and over 15 additional misdemeanor and petty offenses."

According to Bickerton, a custody document at the Garfield County Jail shows "four counts of criminal possession of a financial device, three counts of first-degree criminal trespass auto with intent to commit crime, four counts of criminal possession of ID documents, four counts of ID theft with intent to use, three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, three counts of theft of less than $300 and one count of conspiracy to commit (felony)."

Rep. Boebert, first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, is seeking a third term. The MAGA congresswoman has been serving in Colorado's Third Congressional District, but she decided that her chances of being reelected were better in the Fourth and switched to Buck's district.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Experts: Russia Is 'Already Spreading Disinformation' For 2024 Election

Experts: Russia Is 'Already Spreading Disinformation' For 2024 Election

From military aid to Ukraine to encouraging the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), President Joe Biden has been a major thorn in the side of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.

Former President Donald Trump, in contrast, has said he would encourage Putin to invade NATO countries if they don't pay enough into the alliance. Putin is clearly hoping that Trump will win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination and defeat incumbent Biden in November.According to NBC News reporters Dan De Luce and Kevin Collier, Putin's Kremlin loyalists are "already spreading disinformation" in the election by "using fake online accounts and bots" to "damage" Biden "and his fellow Democrats."

De Luce and Collier, in an article published on February 26, explain, "The dissemination of attacks on Biden is part of a continuing effort by Moscow to undercut American military aid to Ukraine and U.S. support for and solidarity with NATO, experts said. A similar effort is underway in Europe. France, Germany and Poland said, this month, that Russia has launched a barrage of propaganda to try to influence European parliamentary elections in June.

"Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy, told NBC News that Putin and the Kremlin have even more "incentive to interfere" in the United States' 2024 election than they did in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

Former CIA official Paul Kolbe, now with the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, told NBC News, "In many ways, it's a perfect storm of opportunity for them. I think, for a lot of reasons, we will see the same approach, but amplified and, I think, with some of the constraints that you might have seen taken off."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Mike Johnson

'Insecure' House Speaker Faces Raging Divisions In GOP Congress

After former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted as speaker, thanks in part to a "motion to vacate" from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the House of Representatives' small Republican majority went through weeks of chaos before confirming Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) for the position.

Johnson, after his confirmation, promised to end the chaos and run the House like a "well-oiled machine." But the chaos remains as his caucus deals with everything from GOP resignations to the possibility of a partial government shutdown.

Bloomberg News reporters Steven T. Dennis and Billy House examine Johnson's problems in an article published on February 23.

According to the journalists, "multiple senior House Republicans" who were interviewed on condition of anonymity "now portray Johnson as an insecure leader who faces a steep learning curve."

"Those GOP lawmakers complain Johnson keeps counsel mostly with an insular circle of his own staffers on even the most challenging matters — and that some senior colleagues are treated as objects of suspicion rather than allies," Dennis and House explain. "They cite two back-to-back humiliating defeats in one early February evening, when the House not only rejected an Israel-only war aid package Johnson put up for a vote, but also, a marquee Republican impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas…. Johnson rallied his party the following week to impeach Mayorkas on a second try, prevailing by a single vote after Republican Steve Scalise returned from cancer treatment."

Johnson, according to Dennis and House, is coping with "a Republican majority at war with itself." And conservative Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is warning that House Republicans will suffer politically if they drop the ball with military aid to Ukraine.

"If (Vladimir) Putin wins," the reporters quote Tillis as saying, "Republicans will lose."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Ann Coulter

'We're Getting Slaughtered': Coulter Blames Lost Elections On Religious  'Zealots'

Over the years, conservative firebrand author Ann Coulter hasn't been shy about attacking "godless" liberals. And she has defended the Religious Right on many occasions.

But since the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the anti-abortion Coulter has argued that red states are going much too far with their restrictions on abortion.

Coulter, during a mid-February appearance on Bill Maher's HBO show Real Time, argued that religious "zealots" are causing Republicans to lose elections they should be winning. The subject came up during a discussion of Republicans losing ground among young female voters.

When Maher predicted that abortion would be "the Achilles heel for the Republican Party in the next election," Coulter agreed — saying, "Abortion is really hurting Republicans. I don't think you can blame all Republicans for this…. I'm glad (Roe v. Wade) was overturned by the Supreme Court…. I think it was disgusting to call that a constitutional right. But it has been sent back to the states. That's all we ever wanted. And guess what, fellow pro-lifers, we're getting slaughtered."

Coulter added, "There have been seven direct-to-the-people votes. And the tiniest restriction on abortion loses overwhelmingly — in Montana, in Kentucky, states that Trump won, Kansas…. And it isn't Republicans per se pushing this. It is these pro-life zealots who just, they don't care — I'm going to be pure, and did you see my writeup in the Catholic Insights Magazine? And you guys are like the corporate Republicans who will not give up on your cheap labor. We have to tell them: We can give you some things, but we can't give you everything — or we're just going to lose."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Trump Faces Huge Potential Damages In January 6 Civil Lawsuits

Trump Faces Huge Potential Damages In January 6 Civil Lawsuits

Before Justice Arthur Engoron released his verdict in New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud case, many legal experts predicted that Trump would get clobbered financially. And that's exactly what happened.

On Friday afternoon, February 16, Engoron ordered Trump to pay almost $355 million. But when interest in factored in, that figure increases to $450 million.

Engoron's decision comes after two separate civil defamation lawsuits by former Elle Magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages in her first lawsuit against him and $83.3 million in the second one. Between James' case (including the interest) and the damages in Carroll's lawsuits, Trump owes over $535 million.

According to Forbes' Alison Durkee, those aren't the only civil cases that Trump needs to be worried about.

In an article published on February 19, Durkee explains, "Former President Donald Trump now owes more than $440 million before interest in civil court fines after being ordered to pay more than $354 million Friday in the civil fraud case against him and his company — and it's possible more damages awards could be coming as the ex-president faces more civil cases seeking to hold him liable for the January 6 riot. Trump still faces multiple civil lawsuits — which have largely been consolidated in court — brought by Democratic lawmakers and Capitol police officers, which seek to hold Trump personally liable for the January 6 riot."

Durkee adds, "Those cases are now moving forward after federal district and appeals courts refused to throw them out, rejecting Trump's argument that he has 'immunity' because the allegations stem from actions he took as president."

Durkee notes that the "January 6 civil cases" are "moving forward again in federal district court after appeals courts refused to throw them out." A hearing, according to Durkee, has been scheduled for this Friday, February 23.

"Trump has denied the allegations against him in the civil January 6 lawsuits, accusing Democratic lawmakers in his motion to dismiss of 'attempting to undermine the First Amendment by bringing this lawsuit, based on their longstanding and public grudges against President Trump,'" Durkee reports. "The lawmakers 'fail to plausibly plead any viable conspiracy theory against President Trump,' Trump's attorneys wrote…. The ex-president has continued to insist ex-presidents have 'absolute immunity' even as courts have rejected his arguments, claiming such immunity is necessary even when their actions 'cross the line.'"

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

'I Absolutely Hate Trump': Big Swath Of Independents Are Rejecting Him

'I Absolutely Hate Trump': Big Swath Of Independents Are Rejecting Him

In 2020, a long list of well-known conservatives endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president, including former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), GOP activist Cindy McCain, attorney George Conway and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. And four years later, with Donald Trump seemingly on track to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Biden's reelection campaign is hoping that anti-Trump conservatives will again be part of his coalition.

Politico reporters Sam Stein and Natalie Allison, in an article published on January 23, take a look at Republicans and independents who are refusing to vote for Trump if he becomes the nominee.

"Donald Trump has a problem no matter what happens in New Hampshire on Tuesday night: There's a whole swath of the Republican electorate and a good chunk of independents who appear firmly committed to not voting for him in November if he becomes the nominee," Stein and Allison explain. "It's an issue that became starkly apparent in polling ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, when an NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of voters in that state found that fully 43 percent of Nikki Haley supporters said they would back President Joe Biden over Trump. And it's a dynamic that has been on vivid display as the campaign shifted this week to New Hampshire."

Scott Simeone, an independent New Hampshire voter who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, told Politico, "I can't vote for Trump. He's a crook. He's too corrupt. I voted for him, and I didn't realize he’s as corrupt as he is."

Another New Hampshire voter, Lisa Tracy, told Politicoshe "would go with Biden" if Trump is the nominee.

Tracy said of Trump, "I liked him, but he just scares me now. Everybody that has ever worked for him is not anymore."

Some of the New Hampshire residents Politico interviewed would be open to voting for Haley over Biden in the general election but are adamantly anti-Trump.

Curtis Thornbrugh, an 81-year-old independent, told Politico he voted for Barry Goldwater in 1964, Bob Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, but supported Biden in 2020.

Thornbrugh said he would consider Haley but said of Trump, "I can't find anything good to say, and I try. He's dangerous, and the people around him are too."

Similarly, 79-year-old Forbes Farmer, another independent, would consider voting for Haley over Biden in November but said of Trump, "No, never. I absolutely hate Trump.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

'No Labels' Wants Justice Department To Investigate Its Critics

'No Labels' Wants Justice Department To Investigate Its Critics

Critics of the No Labels movement have been warning that if a Joe Biden/Donald Trump rematch is really close in the 2024 presidential election, a No Labels candidate could act as a spoiler and put Trump back in the White House. Many of No Labels' critics are Democrats, although some are Never Trump conservatives like Amanda Carpenter and The Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson — a former GOP strategist who is supporting Biden and believes that a second Trump term would be disastrous for the United States.

No Labels, meanwhile, is arguing that pro-Democrat groups are going too far in their efforts to discourage them from running a presidential candidate in 2024.

According to the Washington Post's Michael Scherer, No Labels leaders are asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch a criminal investigation of Democrat-leaning groups it claims are harassing and bullying them.

Scherer reports, "The group, in a January 11 letter signed by former Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT.), former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) and others, argues that a public and private pressure campaign to discourage donations to No Labels and support for the ticket goes beyond legally protected political speech…. The Justice Department has not responded to the letter, according to No Labels leaders."

In their letter, No Labels told the DOJ, "It's one thing to oppose candidates who are running; it's another to use intimidation tactics to prevent them from even getting in front of the voters."

Scherer notes that No Labels' opponents "have publicly declared their intent to put pressure on donors and potential candidates to steer clear of the group."

Former Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO) has maintained that No Labels opponents aren't try to intimidate or bully the group but rather, are merely trying to let voters know what is at stake in the 2024 election.

In December, Gephardt told reporters, "We are worried about any third party. We realize it is a free country. Anybody can run for president who wants to run for president. But we have a right to tell citizens the danger they will face if they vote for any of these third-party candidates.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

What Haley's Late Iowa Surge May Portend For New Hampshire -- And Beyond

What Haley's Late Iowa Surge May Portend For New Hampshire -- And Beyond

While frontrunner Donald Trump appears to be on track to win the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has been outperforming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a second-place candidate in New Hampshire. And a Suffolk University poll released on January 11 found Haley in second place in Iowa as well.

If Haley outperforms DeSantis in the 2024 Iowa Caucuses and goes on to outperform him in New Hampshire, it will validate her supporters' view that she is the GOP's strongest alternative to Trump.

In a report published on January 15, the New York Times' Nate Cohn explains, "Any show of strength for Ms. Haley could be significant ahead of New Hampshire. She had already pulled to within striking distance of Mr. Trump there before Chris Christie withdrew from the race. Historically, primary polling is extremely volatile, and the candidates who surge late often keep surging."

Cohn adds, "Ms. Haley might still need just about everything to go right, and a burst of favorable media coverage after Iowa would only help. If so — and no Iowan will want to hear this — the biggest consequence of Iowa might just be in New Hampshire."

The Times reporter stresses, however, that Trump, according to polls, is still way ahead of Haley in Iowa.

"Of course, even a Haley win in New Hampshire would still leave Mr. Trump as an overwhelming favorite to win the nomination," Cohn reports. "Her appeal is almost exclusively concentrated among highly educated and moderate Republicans and independents, who make up an outsize share of the New Hampshire electorate but will do very little for her elsewhere."

Cohn continues, "But with Mr. Trump's criminal trials still ahead, perhaps there is still a scenario, however remote, where second place in Iowa tonight turns out to matter more than we imagine today."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet