The Donald Trump Score Card

From a Gun-Free Bubble, NRA Demands 'More Guns' To Limit Mass Shootings
Tim Dickinson
May 28, 2022 10:10AM ET

From a Gun-Free Bubble, NRA Demands 'More Guns' To Limit Mass Shootings

excerpt:

"HOUSTON—The biggest names of the National Rifle Association’s annual gun show wouldn’t take the stage until mid-afternoon on Friday. But a young man with a vintage Make America Great hat, and a couple wearing matching “ULTRA MAGA” shirts, began camping out in the third-floor hallway of the convention center not long after 9 a.m. to guarantee themselves of prime seats for the star attraction: former president Donald Trump.

The timing of this conference, the NRA’s guns-palooza, is beyond perverse, coming just days after 19 students and 2 teachers were massacred by an 18-year-old wielding an AR-15 in Uvalde. By noon on Friday, a protest was in full-tilt across the street from the convention hall. Demonstrators for gun control held signs aloft with slogans like “NRA OWNS GOP.” One listed the names of the children killed in their classroom on Tuesday, etched in black and blood red. “¡Asesinos!” yelled a man repeatedly into a megaphone, using the Spanish word for “killers.”

Given the combustibility of the moment, the United States Secret Service didn’t mess around. By 1 p.m., a mostly retirement-age crowd had queued up behind the early-comers, in line that snaked into a cavernous side-annex of the convention hall. A German shepherd with a “K9 Explosive” collar walked the line, sniffing at guests. Large poster boards warned attendees that firearms, ammunition, knives and “weapons of any kind” were prohibited inside the convention arena.

Filtering this crowd of approximately 3,000 NRA members through the Secret Service security checkpoint — replete with airport style metal detectors, wandings and pat-downs — took close to two hours. But there was little grumbling about the small inconvenience to ensure the safety of the former president, as well as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and, of course, NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre.

The irony that a common-sense gun restriction was creating a firearms-free bubble inside the belly of the NRA convention was glaring, but attendees and speakers alike seemed blinded to it completely. Speaker after oblivious speaker insisted that curbs on gun can’t and won’t deter shooters, and that the only solution to the nation’s plague of gun violence is more yet more weaponry."

 

Up to 50 Subpoenas Expected as Grand Jury Begins Trump Inquiry

excerpt:

"ATLANTA — As many as 50 witnesses are expected to be subpoenaed by a special grand jury that will begin hearing testimony next week in the criminal investigation into whether former President Donald J. Trump and his allies violated Georgia laws in their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.

The process, which is set to begin on Wednesday, is likely to last weeks, bringing dozens of subpoenaed witnesses, both well-known and obscure, into a downtown Atlanta courthouse bustling with extra security because of threats directed at the staff of the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T. Willis.

Ms. Willis, a Democrat, has said in the past that Mr. Trump created a threatening atmosphere with his open criticism of the investigation. At a rally in January, he described the Georgia investigation and others focusing on him as “prosecutorial misconduct at the highest level” that was being conducted by “vicious, horrible people.” Ms. Willis has had staffers on the case outfitted with bulletproof vests."

 

Federal investigation into Trump fake elector probe expands to multiple states - CNNPolitics

excerpt:

"Federal investigators have interviewed Republicans in Georgia about interactions with people in former President Donald Trump’s orbit and his 2020 reelection campaign, as the Justice Department’s sprawling criminal probe examines efforts in at least two states to put forth alternate slates of electors to displace Joe Biden electors in battleground states Trump lost.

In one case, FBI agents asked a prominent Georgia Republican whether he had direct conversations with Trump.

“They just asked who talked to me. If anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with me. Did Giuliani talk to me? Did Trump talk to me?” said Patrick Gartland, who was set to serve as an elector but dropped out. He recounted how two FBI agents visited his home in Marietta, Georgia, a few weeks ago.

Investigators have sought answers this month from Gartland and others connected to the GOP in Georgia and in Michigan – both in FBI interviews and in grand jury subpoenas for documents and testimony. Investigators are looking at whether the Trump campaign played a role in the submission of false election certificates, according to people approached by the Justice Department."

 

Trump, other Republicans reject gun reforms at NRA convention that showcases nation's split - CNNPolitics

excerpt:

"Former President Donald Trump and other GOP leaders rejected efforts to overhaul gun laws and mocked Democrats and activists calling for change Friday at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention.

The gathering this weekend in Houston is taking place 280 miles east of the South Texas town of Uvalde, where 19 children and two adults were killed by a gunman at an elementary school Tuesday.

Hours before top Republicans were scheduled to speak in Houston, law enforcement officials in Uvalde acknowledged that they had waited too long to breach the classroom where a gunman was shooting children and teachers.

But those mistakes, and their ramifications on proposals to place more armed police and teachers in schools, went unmentioned in speeches by Trump and other Republicans.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott canceled his planned appearance at the NRA convention and instead pre-recorded a video in which he was dismissive of calls for gun reforms."

 

Even Republicans fume at GOP for defending candidates busted for fraud

excerpt:

"After spending years pushing former President Donald Trump's "Big Lie," the Michigan Republican Party is defending its own candidates who were caught up in a massive fraud scheme.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections released a report on Monday recommending that leading Republican gubernatorial candidates James Craig and Perry Johnson, as well as three others, be disqualified from the ballot after submitting too many fake petition signatures. The bureau said it had identified 36 petition circulators who submitted more than 68,000 fake signatures across 10 sets of nominating contests, including the governor's primary. The state Board of Canvassers on Thursday deadlocked on whether to accept or reject the recommendation, effectively leaving in place the bureau's decision to disqualify all five candidates, although Republicans have vowed to challenge the outcome in court.

Republican election attorney John Pirich told Salon that the fraud scheme uncovered by the election officials is "the largest I've ever seen."

"This is of a magnitude beyond my imagination," he said, describing it as the "most despicable abuse of the circulation process that I've ever witnessed.""

 

In Trying To Cover His Own Ass, John Eastman Threw His Client Under the Bus. How Trumpian.

excerpt:

"The strategy by Eastman has been a legal disaster from the get-go. Had he simply complied with the January 6 Committee’s requests at the outset, rather than file a lawsuit to try and halt production of his documents to the Committee, the parties would have been left arguing in the court of public opinion whether the Eastman memos and emails demonstrate a conspiracy to overturn the election. Instead, because of Eastman’s own court filing, the matter wound up before a federal judge, giving the Committee a rare and structured opportunity to make its case that the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege applied to the documents. That mini-trial provided an opportunity for the Committee to gather, organize and present its evidence and to ferret out the defenses Eastman and presumably the White House would deploy.

Having lost once, and disastrously, before the judge, Eastman has not learned his lesson. Instead, rather bafflingly he has asked the court to reconsider its decision with respect to the likelihood of criminality, and in so doing he has shown even more of his cards with respect to his criminal defenses. Further, in trying to make his best case for attorney-client privilege, Eastman again had to establish a baseline that the communications he sought to protect in this second batch of documents were between him and his clients, which he claims included the former president, congressmembers, and certain state legislators."

 

Man Admits Plotting Attack on Democratic HQ to Avenge Trump Loss

excerpt:

"A 46-year-old California man accused of plotting to blow up the state’s Democratic Party headquarters in a bid to avenge ex-President Donald Trump’s electoral loss pleaded guilty on Friday to three charges, federal prosecutors announced. Ian Benjamin Rogers of Napa will be sentenced in September for conspiring to destroy a building by fire or explosives, possessing an explosive device, and possessing a machine gun. Rogers and co-conspirator Jarrod Copeland, 38, “hoped their attacks would prompt a movement,” prosecutors said. The men planned to “hit the enemy in the mouth” with Molotov cocktails, targeting, among others, the Governor’s Mansion. When authorities raided Rogers’ home and business last year, officers seized some 50 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammo, and five pipe bombs, authorities said. Rogers’ lawyer told the Associated Press that he “feels awful about what happened.”"

 

A federal court has ruled in favor of GOP gerrymandered maps that the Ohio Supreme Court rejected five times.

The GOP ran out the clock.


Ohio GOP wins favorable state voting maps, flouting reform attempts

excerpt:

"Ohio Republicans secured favorable legislative redistricting maps on Friday for this year's elections after the state's top court effectively threw up its hands in an attempt to enforce new redistricting rules.

The GOP victory came by way of a federal court ruling by judges who said they felt obligated to approve a map to ensure Ohio could hold its elections, even if that map was one the state Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.

"Between the standoff among state officials and the delay in getting the case, our options were limited. So we chose the best of our bad options," the federal court wrote in an order that moved the legislative primary to Aug. 2. It was initially scheduled for May 3.

The court's ruling dealt a major blow to the state's efforts to reform its redistricting process.

New rules imposed by a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2015 sought to curb gerrymandering and force lawmakers in both parties to work together when drawing boundaries for legislative districts."

 

A federal court has ruled in favor of GOP gerrymandered maps that the Ohio Supreme Court had rejected multiple times.

The GOP ran out the clock. Primaries will be held August 2, three months late.


Ohio GOP wins favorable state voting maps, flouting reform attempts

excerpt:

"Ohio Republicans secured favorable legislative redistricting maps on Friday for this year's elections after the state's top court effectively threw up its hands in an attempt to enforce new redistricting rules.

The GOP victory came by way of a federal court ruling by judges who said they felt obligated to approve a map to ensure Ohio could hold its elections, even if that map was one the state Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.

"Between the standoff among state officials and the delay in getting the case, our options were limited. So we chose the best of our bad options," the federal court wrote in an order that moved the legislative primary to Aug. 2. It was initially scheduled for May 3.

The court's ruling dealt a major blow to the state's efforts to reform its redistricting process.

New rules imposed by a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2015 sought to curb gerrymandering and force lawmakers in both parties to work together when drawing boundaries for legislative districts."

 

Now the GOP has to run out the clock in the courts for another two years to keep the gerrymandered maps in place for the 2024 elections.

The amendment to the Ohio constitution to address gerrymandering started with voters in 2015.

 

Tactics...

 

POST-BUFFALO POLL: Whopping 64 Percent of Republicans Say Discrimination Against White People ‘As Big a Problem’ As Anti-Black (msn.com)

 

No accounting for stupidity...

 

Proud Boys leader loses bid to be released from jail.


https://www.usnews.com/news/top-new...tarrio-loses-latest-bid-for-release-from-jail

 

Trump brags about crowd size at rally before Capitol riot on 6 January

excerpt:

"Former president Donald Trump bragged about the size of the crowd at the rally he held at the White House Ellipse on 6 January of last year before the riot wherein his supporters breached the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results.

Mr Trump made his remarks on Saturday evening in Casper, Wyoming where he held a rally in support of Harriet Hageman, who is running in the Republican congressional primary to unseat Representative Liz Cheney.

Ms Cheney was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach the former president for his role in inciting the riot and serves as the vice chairwoman of the select committee investigating the raid."

 

Trump Stages Rally in Wyoming in His Quest to Defeat Cheney

excerpt:

"Former President Donald Trump ripped into Republican US Representative Liz Cheney at a rally in Wyoming Saturday, as part of his quest to defeat the incumbent who has emerged as his most vocal and active GOP critic.

“Few members of Congress in history have personally caused more damage and destruction to our Republican Party” than Cheney, he said. “She’s aided and abetted the radical Democrat Party in one of the most unhinged, lawless and dangerous witch hunts of all time,” referring to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol."

 

How White Victimhood Fuels Republican Politics

excerpt:

"Trump’s election killed any illusions anyone might have had about a “post-racial” America. Indeed, Trump was successful in finding a predominately white audience who lapped up his overt racism toward people of color and who were eager to embrace a rising sense of white victimhood.

Trump may be out of power, but those feelings aren’t. They may even be growing.

With President Biden having just passed one full year in office, public opinion research shows that white Americans — and especially Republicans — see whites as victims of discrimination more than, say, Hispanic or Black Americans. According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, for example, only 17 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning Americans said there is “a lot” of discrimination against Black people in today’s society. That number rose to 26 percent when Republicans were asked whether they believed white people faced “a lot” of discrimination. And intense white racial resentment remains present both among Trump’s base and in our politics today. Case in point: Trump, who’s a (very, very early) favorite to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is still hitting that same drum; during a recent political event, the former president went so far as to falsely claim that white people were currently being discriminated against and sent to the “back of the line” when it came to receiving COVID-19 vaccines and treatment."

 

POST-BUFFALO POLL: Whopping 64 Percent of Republicans Say Discrimination Against White People ‘As Big a Problem’ As Anti-Black

excerpt:

"In a poll taken just after the racist massacre in Buffalo, a whopping 64 percent of Republicans say discrimination against white people is “as big a problem” as anti-Black discrimination.

The suspect in last week’s terrifying racist attack — an 18-year-old White man named Payton Gendron, said in an online manifesto that he was motivated by replacement theory — an explicitly racist ideology that says, as a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll describes it, “A group of people in this country are trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants and people of color who share their political views.”

Respondents to the poll were asked, “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Discrimination against White people has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black people in the U.S.”

Republican voters were twice as likely as everyone else to agree, with 64 percent saying they “Strongly agree” (35%) or “Somewhat agree” (29%), and 29 percent saying they “Somewhat disagree” (19%) or “Strongly disagree” (10%).

And an even larger 73 percent of Trump voters agreed that “Discrimination against White people has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black people in the U.S.”"

 

Republicans grow more aggressive in openly defying Trump | The Hill

excerpt:

“Trump really wants to relitigate 2020 and there’s decreasing interest in doing that with Republican voters,” one GOP consultant said. “Republican voters are focused on stopping Biden’s agenda, winning the midterms and ultimately retaking the White House. They’re not focused on 2020, but Trump is.”

The consultant said that Trump’s singular focus on his 2020 electoral loss to President Biden may be creating an opening for other prospective White House hopefuls, who see an opportunity to sell themselves to voters as adherents of Trump’s so-called “America first” political movement, but without the baggage of the former president.

“Most Republican primary voters still really like Donald Trump, but they’re also interested in what’s next,” the consultant said. “Trump was such an omnipresent force for five years and I think we’re finally seeing other Republicans start to get more attention, because it turns out the party’s a lot broader than just Trump and his loyalists.”