Tag: Republican

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Trump Calls Out GOP Rep. Thomas Massie As “Third Rate Grandstander”

L-R Rep. Thomas Massie, Donald Trump

Donald Trump has now turned his ire on a member of his own party.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has issues with the Coronavirus Stimulus legislation that passed in the Senate earlier this week and now needs to be approved by the House.

Massie has tweeted he plans to ask for a full vote of the House which will require members who are home in their own districts to travel back to Washington, D.C. which will cause the bill’s approval to be delayed.

Trump took to Twitter to call the Republican out as a “third rate Grandstander:”

“Looks like a third rate Grandstander named @RepThomasMassie, a Congressman from, unfortunately, a truly GREAT State, Kentucky, wants to vote against the new Save Our Workers Bill in Congress. He just wants the publicity. He can’t stop it, only delay, which is both dangerous & costly. Workers & small businesses need money now in order to survive. Virus wasn’t their fault. It is “HELL” dealing with the Dems, had to give up some stupid things in order to get the “big picture” done. 90% GREAT! WIN BACK HOUSE, but throw Massie out of Republican Party!”

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GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter Pleads Guilty To Stealing Hundreds Of Thousands From Campaign

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA50)

GOP Congressman Duncan Hunter pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from campaign funds for his personal use.

Expenditures included a weekend-long bachelor party and a $140,000 family vacation to Italy.

Not an accounting mistake; not a ‘witch-hunt’ as he previously claimed.

From the Department of Justice:

U.S. Representative Duncan D. Hunter pleaded guilty in federal court today to the major count in his indictment, admitting that he knowingly and willfully stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds that he and his wife used to maintain their lifestyle.

According to the plea agreement, Hunter and his wife, Margaret, who pleaded guilty in June 2019, illegally converted more than $150,000 in campaign funds from 2010 through 2016 to purchase goods and services for their personal use and enjoyment, and engaged in 30 or more illegal transactions using campaign funds for personal use.

As detailed in the indictment, the Hunters stole money from the campaign for items as inconsequential as fast food, movie tickets, and sneakers; as trivial as video games, Lego sets and Playdoh; as mundane as groceries, dog food, and utilities; and as self-indulgent as luxury hotels, overseas vacations and plane tickets for their family pet rabbits, Eggburt and Cadbury – all while their family was otherwise deeply in debt.

During the course of the conspiracy, the Hunters overdrew their bank account more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period resulting in $37,761 in “overdraft” and “insufficient funds” bank fees.

They racked up $24,600 in finance charges, interest, and other fees related to late, over the limit, and returned payment fees for their credit cards.

Hunter returns to court on March 17, 2020, at 9:00 a.m. for sentencing where he’ll face possibly five years in prison and $250,000 fine.

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GOP Lawmaker Candice Keller Blames Gays, Drag Queens, Marijuana & Video Games For Mass Shootings

Ohio state Rep. Candice Keller (image via government site)

In the aftermath of two deadly mass shootings over the weekend, one conservative Ohio state lawmaker put the blame for the tragic events on same-sex marriage, video games, transgender people, drag queens, President Obama and more.

On Saturday, a lone gunman killed 20 people at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas. That was followed by another shooting in Dayton, Ohio, which left 10 dead and at least 27 more wounded.

State Rep. Candice Keller (R), who represents a district near Dayton, wrote on her Facebook page, “After every mass shooting, the liberals start the blame game. Why not place the blame where it belongs?”

She went on to list who she feels are the real culprits for so many mass shootings beginning with, “The breakdown of the traditional American family (thank you, transgender, homosexual marriage and drag queen advocates).”

Also on her list of folks to blame for the two mass shooting events were:

  • Fatherlessness
  • Video games (although other countries have video games as well and not nearly the gun violence that is seen in the U.S.)
  • Open borders
  • Recreational marijuana
  • Students in school who misbehave
  • Disrespect for the police (she gave a shoutout to Obama for some reason)
  • Hatred of our veterans (athletes are to blame for that one)
  • The Democratic Congress (although Democrats only control one chamber of Congress)
  • Culture (in general we guess) for ignoring the importance of God and the church
  • State officeholders and something about the 2nd Amendment
  • And, of course, ‘snowflakes’ who “can’t accept a duly-elected president

I’m not sure how Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny managed to avoid the list, but maybe she was in a hurry.

When the Dayton Daily News contacted Keller about the post, she told a reporter she had posted something “to her private, personal Facebook page.”

And when the post was read to her over the phone, she said “it sounded like part of her posting but she couldn’t be sure if it had been altered,” introducing the idea that she had been possibly hacked.

The post was promptly deleted, but screengrabs have gone viral on the internet.

Brian Hester, Chairman for the Butler County Democratic Party, responded to the post telling the Daily News, “She loves to fan the flames and play the role of victim here, not the nine people who were killed….She is fundamentally unfit for office.”

Hester added, “She is an embarrassment to her party, to conservatives, to Butler County, and to the state Legislature.”

(source: Dayton Daily News)

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Coming Out At 40, GOP County Commissioner Says “I Get To Be Myself”

A Republican county commissioner in Utah came out as gay to his constituents via social media video on Wednesday.

A Republican county commissioner in Utah came out as gay to his constituents via social media video on Wednesday.

“There’s no easy way to say this, I might as well just jump up and say it — I’m gay,” said Nathan Ivie in the video. “That’s my reality, and that’s what I need to talk to you about today.”

Ivie, a 40-year-old horse trainer, says he shared his first kiss with a boy when he was 9, survived a suicide attempt at 22, and has spent most of his life trying to come to terms with who he is.

“I diligently devoted myself to trying to cure myself, to heal myself,” said the soft-spoken LDS church member. “And doing all of the things that society and my faith-based institutions had taught me to do to cure myself — going on missions, getting married, etc., etc.”

He also shared that while he’s amicably separated from his wife of 13 years, he still considers her his best friend. And the couple are committed to raising their two children together.

In an interview, Ivie told local newspaper The Herald Extra his coming out was the result of a few factors.

First, he wants “the 22-year-old version of himself” out there to know things will be ok.

“Obviously we have a problem in our community, especially in the LGBT community, of suicide,” he shared. “As someone who’s been there and pulled the trigger once: don’t.”

He also says that seeing two men holding hands on a river trail in Boise deeply affected him.

“It was just two regular human beings who loved each other who were walking holding hands as an intimate, caring couple, and that image really stuck with me for whatever reason,” he told the Herald Extra. “And that was probably one of the first times in my life I went, ‘Maybe I’m not screwed up. Maybe I’m not broken.’”

And last year, he found himself threatening to pull county funding for Provo’s Freedom Festival if LGBTQ groups weren’t allowed to participate in the annual 4th of July parade.

One of those groups was Encircle, a Provo nonprofit which works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth.

Ivie told the Herald Extrait was a difficult balancing act during that time advocating for Encircle and the other LGBTQ groups not to use the words, “Because I know.”

Openly gay former state Sen. Jim Dabakis took to Twitter to call Ivie an “ally.” Dabakis also sent a message to the county commissioner, “Welcome to an honest life, Nathan.”

Mayor Jackie Biskupski, Salt Lake City’s first openly gay mayor, also tweeted her support:

The first-term county commissioner, elected in 2016 in a staunchly conservative county, says that reaction to his announcement has been positive and that his coming out does not affect his view on conservative politics.

“The Democratic Party should not have a monopoly on tolerance,” said Ivie. “I hope this illustrates that you can be gay and Republican. You can believe in limited government and personal liberties.”

Ivie does have one piece of advice for young LGBTQs who may be struggling with who they are.

“One of my favorite reminders is that a flower doesn’t need to be reminded it’s a flower, it just blooms,” he said. “Just bloom. Just be who you are and don’t fear that. Discover it, let it happen.”

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Ohio Gov. Kasich Bans Trans Discrimination With Executive Order

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

Ohio Gov. John Kasich Wednesday issued an Executive Order, 2018-12K, changing the anti-discrimination policy for state employees to include “gender identity or expression,” reports local NBC News affiliate, WCMH.

With just weeks left in Kasich’s term as governor, the order bans discrimination based on “gender identity and expression” in state personnel decisions.

The new language replaces the executive order put in place by Kasich when he took office in 2011, which included race, color, religion, gender, national origin, military status, disability, age and sexual orientation, but not gender identity.

LGBTQ advocacy group Freedom for All Americans says the executive order makes Kasich “the first Republican Governor of a state without statutory protections for LGBTQ people to issue an executive order protecting state employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.”

An outspoken critic of Donald Trump, Kasich has indicated he’s considering a 2020 challenge for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020, and this may be an attempt to show GOP voters a more moderate side of the Republican Party.

A statement from Equality Ohio applauded the move:

This leadership has never been more important. At a time when the basic rights of transgender people to exist in public, to serve in our military, and to access basic health care are at risk, we applaud Governor Kasich for his recognition of our shared humanity with common-sense protections.

Although Kasich’s successor, Governor-elect Mike DeWine (R), could rescind the order when he takes office next month, Freedom for All Americans reports he has “expressed an openness to preserving Kasich’s executive orders.”

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GOP Sen. David Perdue Snatches Phone From Constituent As He Refuses To Answer Question At Public Event

Sen. David Perdue of Georgia (R)

A Georgia Tech student attempted to ask Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) a question about the upcoming gubernatorial election in November when the senator – a f*cking U.S. senator – snatched the student’s phone out of his hand.

Perdue has endorsed current secretary of state, Brian Kemp, for governor.

This week it was revealed that Kemp has been involved in what appears to be voter suppression of African American voters (folks who wouldn’t be supporting him) for the upcoming election against Atlanta Mayor Stacey Abrams.

From The Washington Post:

Abrams has accused Kemp of voter suppression and of using his current position to try to swing the gubernatorial race in his favor. Kemp has defended his office by saying it was simply complying with an “exact match” state law that requires election officials to put a registration application on hold if there are even minor discrepancies with existing records (for instance, a typo or an extra hyphen in a name).

Polls show the race between Kemp and Abrams is a toss-up.

“Hey, so, uh, how can you endorse a candidate — ”

That was as far into the question as the student got. Before he could continue, Perdue snatched the phone out of the student’s hands, as evidence shows in a video suddenly turned erratic.

“No, I’m not doing that. I’m not doing that,” the senator can be heard saying in the cellphone recording.

“You stole my property,” the student tells Perdue. “You stole my property.”

“All right, you wanted a picture?” the senator replies.

“Give me my phone back, senator,” the student says.

“You wanted a picture? I’m going to give it to you,” the senator continues, ignoring the student’s request. “You wanted a picture?”

“Give me my phone back, senator,” the student repeats.

At this point, the video rights itself again, apparently because the student is reunited with his phone. By then, Perdue is walking away, on a crowded pedestrian pathway.

What would have been wrong with just answering his constituent’s question?

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Indiana GOP Reaffirms Commitment To “Man/Woman” Marriage

The Indiana Republican Party reaffirmed its commitment to "traditional" marriage and will continue to oppose marriage equality despite a 2015 Supreme Court ruling

Choosing to remain stuck in the Dark Ages, the Indiana Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm its commitment to marriage being “between a man and a woman” despite the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which made marriage equality the law of the land.

According to NWI.com, Gov. Eric Holdcomb had proposed a revised party plank regarding families that expressed support for all adults raising children.

Instead the 1,494 GOP delegates attending the biennial convention in Evansville reaffirmed the opposite-sex marriage plank first adopted in 2014.

Proposed by Porter County Republican Chairman Michael Simpson, the new language would have declared: “We support traditional families with a mother and father, blended families, grandparents, guardians, single parents and all loving adults who successfully raise and nurture children to reach their full potential every day.”

Speaking to delegates from the floor of the convention, Simpson said a broader understanding of family “is the best platform for our party and the best way for us to grow.”

But Morgan County GOP chairman Daniel Elliott, pushing the issue to the forefront of the convention, told attendees that man-woman marriage “is an important part of who we are as Hoosier Republicans.”

“This language … recognizes the reality on the ground that most families are headed by married couples,” Elliot said.

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Texas Speaker Of The House, Who Stood Up Against Anti-Transgender Legislation, Will Not Run For Re-Election In 2018

Joe Straus, the Republican Speaker of the House in Texas, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2018.

“I believe that in a representative democracy, those who serve in public office should do so for a time, not for a lifetime. And so I want you to know that my family and I have decided that I will not run for re-election next year. My time as a state representative and as speaker will end at the conclusion of my current term,” he announced via Facebook to his constituents.

You may recall that during last year’s legislative session, and the recent special session called by the governor, Straus beat back pressure from prominent politicians including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to bring a controversial anti-transgender “bathroom bill” to the floor of the state House for a vote.

Referencing the high suicide rates among the transgender community thanks to social judgments, the moderate Republican said at the time, “Tell the lieutenant governor I don’t want the suicide of a single Texan on my hands.”

Expect celebrations in the far-right realms of the Republican party as Straus has long been considered a target of the anti-LGBT Family Research Council and other hate groups.

Look for much jockeying in the Texas GOP  universe for the position of Speaker of the House in the coming months.

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Gay Republican Withdraws From Homeland Security Position Over White House Trans Ban

John Fluharty

Former executive director of the Delaware Republican Party, John Fluharty, has withdrawn his name from consideration for a position at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over President Trump’s decision to ban transgender people from the military.

Fluharty is openly gay.

Speaking to the Washington Blade, Fluharty said recent actions by the White House run “counter to my deeply held beliefs:”

“The president has squandered an opportunity to strengthen not only our nation’s example to the rest of the world, but he has also squandered his party’s ability to have creditable messengers in the LGBTQ community on issues where there can be agreement such as reform of our public education system, lower taxes, and growing our economy,” he said. “Issues that are important to all families.”

“The ban on allowing transgender heroes to continue to serve in the military, and the actions by the Justice Department the following day, have effectively alienated the Republican Party from our community for a generation,” added Fluharty.

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Colorado: Conservative Radio Host Steve Curtis Charged With Voter Fraud & Forgery

Conservative radio host Steve Curtis speaking to reporter

It turns out there WAS voter fraud in the 2016 election.

And it was committed by a Republican in Colorado.

From the Washington Post:

The 2016 election was just a month away when Steve Curtis, a conservative radio host and former Colorado Republican Party chairman, devoted an entire episode of his morning talk show to the heated topic of voter fraud.

“It seems to me,” Curtis said in the 42-minute segment, “that virtually every case of voter fraud I can remember in my lifetime was committed by Democrats.”

On Tuesday, Colorado prosecutors threw a wrench into that already dubious theory, accusing Curtis of voter fraud for allegedly filling out and mailing in his ex-wife’s 2016 ballot for president, Denver’s Fox affiliate reported.

Curtis, 57, was charged in Weld County District Court with one count of misdemeanor voter fraud and one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony, according to local media.

The case is the only voter fraud investigation related to the 2016 election that has resulted in criminal charges in the state, the Colorado secretary of state’s office told Denver’s ABC affiliate.

Curtis has not entered a plea. If convicted, he could face more than a year of prison time and a $5,000 fine. His attorney, Christopher Gregory, declined to comment on the case when reached by The Washington Post Tuesday night.

During his radio show about voter fraud, Curtis alleged there was “something about being a Democrat,” he said, that made people prone to criminal behavior. Kinda ironic now, huh?

Why is it always the ones who make the accusations that end up being the guilty ones?

Watch Curtis dodge questions from a reporter below: