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BREAKING: Republicans Already Claiming Fraud in VA GOV Election
Next week, there’s a gubernatorial election in Virginia between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin and some right-wingers in the state are already preparing for a defeat. Even though the race is tight and Youngkin may surely pull off the victory, some conservatives are preparing their excuses if he doesn’t win by saying Democrats are up to no good. Case in point, Republican Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase told Real America’s Voice this week, “I know how Democrats are cheating and that information has been given to the Youngkin campaign. . . . I’m already getting reports today that people are going to vote and they have never done a mail-in ballot ever and yet when they went to cast their ballot they were told ‘no, we’ve already mailed you a mail-in ballot’ and so we’re already looking into that.” This obviously is not actually evidence of error, fraud, or Democrats doing anything in particular. But this is standard operating procedure for the right now. Donald Trump, anticipating losses in 2016 and 2020, warned about voter fraud and a “rigged election” and Larry Elder did the same ahead of this year’s gubernatorial recall election in California. Apparently, this is going to be just what Republicans do moving forward and it is incredibly dangerous for the preservation of American democracy.
Newsmax Host Condemns Fox News for Requiring Vaccination or Testing
Former Fox News host turned Newsmax host Eric Bolling criticized his former employer for having a COVID vaccine mandate this week on his new station. As has been widely reported, Fox requires its employees to be tested daily for the virus if they decide to forgo vaccination. Many right-wing figures are against such requirements and this has provided Newsmax with an opportunity to outflank Fox as supposedly the more conservative network. Bolling, host of the show “Eric Bolling The Balance,” said on Newsmax: “I tell my audience that I’m vaccinated but I’m against the mandate part of it. Fox says and Neil Cavuto says, ‘we’re against mandates too’ but Fox itself has a mandate. You can’t get into 1200 6th Avenue unless you are vaccinated or you’re willing to take a test every day.” What Bolling said was largely true and it is certainly hypocritical for many of these Fox hosts to be bemoaning vaccine mandates elsewhere but not at the company they work for. This sounds like Bolling is trying to take this opportunity to criticize his former network for ousting him several years ago over allegedly sending lewd photos and text messages to three female colleagues. Whatever his motivations may be, on this issue Eric Bolling actually seems to have a point.
From yesterday’s show:
Is It Time for Progressives to Kill the Gutted Infrastructure Package?
It may be time for progressives to kill what’s left of the much gutted infrastructure and reconciliation bills working their ways through Congress. Paid family leave is just the latest of a long list of items to fall out of Democrats’ economic and climate package. Also potentially being stripped from the agenda is tuition-free community college, serious climate regulations, expanded Medicare eligibility and benefits, prescription drug price controls, universal child care, a permanent child tax credit, and increasing the corporate tax rate. This is mostly to appeal to centrist Democratic Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who were unwilling to approve more generous spending deals. While it’s good to be pragmatic, these plans have been gutted to such a degree that it may be cause for progressives in the House and Senate to say they’re not going to go along with the Build Back Better agenda in its current form. The risk of doing this, of course, is that perhaps nothing will get passed and Democrats may waste even more precious time in which they have congressional control. But what Manchin, Sinema, and other centrist Democrats want at this point is so lackluster that it may be time to start playing hardball.
From yesterday’s show:
Ted Cruz Cites Nazi Salutes to Defend Free Speech
There’s been a headline floating around over the last forty-eight hours about Texas Senator Ted Cruz supposedly defending Nazi salutes at school board meetings. That framing is deceptive, as Cruz merely defended the right for parents to give the Nazi salute at school board meetings as it falls under protected free speech laws in the United States. But while those headlines are inaccurate, that doesn’t mean what Senator Cruz actually did at a recent congressional testimony wasn’t horrible. During a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Cruz went after Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was testifying before the committee, for being asked by the National School Board Association to investigate threats by parents against teachers and school administrators. Cruz asked, “General Garland is doing a Nazi salute at an elected official — is that protected by the First Amendment?” To which Garland responded, “yes it is.” What Cruz was trying to do was make it seem as though the Justice Department is going after parents who make Nazi salutes in violation of the First Amendment. But in so doing, he jumbled up a bunch of different aspects to paint a different picture than the one actually going on. In reality, the department is being asked to investigate actual threats of violence not protected by free speech laws and Cruz chose to make an unfair characterization for his own political benefit.
More on the show:
--Caller suggests having people fund charities instead of making people pay taxes
--Caller discusses the "sovereign citizen" movement
--Caller talks about privatizing the electrical grid
--Caller wonders if Donald Trump actually accomplished anything during his presidency
--Caller calls out conservatives for being hypocrites over politicizing Colin Powell's death and Alec Baldwin's fatal gun discharge
--Caller loses patience with ignorant right wingers
--Caller asks David what he thinks the United States will look like in twenty years
--David responds to positive and negative viewer emails
--On the Bonus Show: Seven reasons for the ongoing labor shortage, greenhouse gas emissions up in 2020 despite pandemic, Pat going to Florida, and much more...
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