Q-Anon Has 19 Candidates as AZ Audit Spreads Disinformation
The David Pakman Show - June 4, 2021
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QAnon Has 19 Candidates Running in 2022
The QAnon wing of the Republican Party continues to grow and there are now at least 19 Q-backing GOP candidates competing for House and Senate seats in the 2022 midterms. Based on new polling, one in five Americans believe at least one of the main three QAnon conspiracy theories. One of these theories is that the US government, media, and financial institutions “are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.” (Fifteen percent of Americans hold that viewpoint.) Twenty percent agree with the statement: “there is a storm coming soon that will sweep away the elites in power and restore the rightful leaders.” And 15% agree that “because things have gotten so far off track, true American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.” If these QAnon messages are infiltrating a chunk of the right-wing base, it makes perfect sense that it would attract a new wave of candidates who want to represent them in the House and Senate.
In 2020, a total of 97 QAnon-supporting or QAnon-aligned candidates ran for Congress, according to Media Matters. Two candidates out of those 97 went on to win their races: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. With 18 months remaining before the midterm elections, the total number of QAnon-supporting candidates could easily surpass the 2020 showing. Perhaps some or many of them will actually win. The 2022 midterms will be yet another referendum on Trump and Trumpism but it will also be a test as to whether this Q wing can go on to gain legitimacy within the Republican Party. It’s possible that placating to these fringe candidates will alienate the centrists in the party and make it harder for the GOP to win back the House and Senate in 2022. However, these centrist types could also just accept it as they did with Trump. These next couple of years will be crucial in shaping the long term prospects of the Republican Party.
Bogus Arizona Audit is a Disinformation Fiasco
An election “audit” is currently underway in the state of Arizona, even though we are now seven months removed from the 2020 election. There is zero chance that this recount is going to change who the president is. Even if the “audit” proved every single one of Joe Biden’s votes in Arizona were fraudulent, Biden won the presidency thanks to several other states and, regardless, there’s no process for installing a defeated candidate or former president while a new term is underway. So what officials and right-wing activists in the state of Arizona are doing is a misinformation campaign. They are going on a fishing expedition to find even the weakest examples of irregularities or voter fraud so that they can then pass legislation that will make it harder for people to vote. The Republican Party still has a solid hold over the state government in Arizona and they would be able to do it with even just a tiny bit of evidence backing them up. Suppressing the vote even just a little bit could turn the state from purple to red. It’s a depraved and undemocratic agenda, but that’s the state of the Republican Party today.
From yesterday’s show:
Biden's 39.6% Tax Rate Would Start at $452,700
Some right wingers are losing their minds over a proposal by the Biden White House to implement a 39.6% top tax rate on people making over $452,700 a year. Of course, income below the $452,700 threshold would be taxed at progressively lower rates, since this would just affect the top marginal tax rate. The vast majority of Americans don’t make anywhere near that amount of money, but Fox News and other right-wing outlets will find a way to make this news seem like a doomsday scenario. People who make average salaries and have a conservative political bent will be tricked into thinking that Biden is going to raise their taxes or that somehow if the rich are taxed more it’s going to have a negative impact on them all the way down the socioeconomic ladder. Biden’s tax policy wouldn’t even undo all of the tax cuts granted by Trump’s 2017 tax cut legislation and the top rates wouldn’t be nearly as high as they used to be. But Republicans are acting aggrieved and hoping that they can convince just one Senate Democrat to not support it.
--More on the show:
--Caller talks about statues and honoring historical figures
--Caller wonders why more people aren't returning to work after COVID
--Caller questions when the bogus 2020 election audits will end
--Caller from New York discusses a number of important issues
--Caller considers whether the Trump voter fraud narrative will lead to violence
--Caller wonders whether talking about Marjorie Taylor Greene makes her more popular
--Caller is 13 years old and getting into politics
--Caller says that liberals don't understand conservative parts of the country
--Audience Question: Do critics of critical race theory understand critical race theory?
--Audience Question: How much credit does Donald Trump get for the vaccination effort?
--Audience Question: Is the Republican 2022 strategy all about praising Trump?
--On the Bonus Show: George P. Bush and Mike Pence bend knee to Trump, Stanford reverses decision on student who criticized the Federalist Society, and much more...
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