'Incapable of understanding the reality': Scott Walker’s meltdown about Gen Z voters blows up in his face

Maya Boddie, Alternet
April 07, 2023

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin speaking at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)


Former Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker (R), recently suggested Republicans are losing significant elections because of Generation Z voters and "years of radical indoctrination," Media Matters for America reports.

During a Thursday, April 6, interview with Fox News, host Trace Gallagher asked the former governor, "The Wall Street Journal says the following here, 'the left wins big in the midwest elections.' Quoting again, 'Progressives had a banner day in the midwest Tuesday with victories for Chicago mayor and a swing seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The results will energize the left within the Democratic party and the badger state results are a five-alarm warning to Republicans about 2024.' Is it? We said this before in the intro. Is this a five-alarm fire for the Republicans?"

Walker replied, "To me the larger issue here, we've seen it particularly in Wisconsin but across the country, is younger voters. In Wisconsin, last fall, we saw about a 40-point margin that younger voters gave to the Democrats running for senate and governor. We saw similar margins in Pennsylvania."

Reiterating his point, the GOPer tweeted a clip from the interview, writing, "Younger voters are the issue. It comes from years of radical indoctrination - on campus, in school, with social media, & throughout culture. We have to counter it or conservatives will never win battleground states again."

During the interview, he insisted, "Part of the reason why you have John Fetterman in the U.S. Senate in Arizona and Georgia and elsewhere. And just this week in Wisconsin, we don't yet know the numbers by age, but we do know that Dane County, which is where the University of Wisconsin's flagship campus is at, about 50,000 students are enrolled there, Dane County cast more ballots in the race for the Supreme Court than the largest county in the state, Milwaukee County. And in Dane County, 82% of those votes went for the radical. So unless we turn young people around -- and it's not as simple as one campaign ad or some sort of a coalition. This is years of liberal indoctrination coming home to roost. And we've got to turn it around if we're gonna win again."

The Hill reports, "Generation Z voters overwhelmingly align with Democrats on issues like gun control, abortion, climate change, and LGBTQ issues, posing a challenge for the GOP as it looks to appeal to the younger demographic," adding, "Seventy-seven percent of Generation Z voters said they voted for a Democratic candidate for Congress, compared to only 21 percent who said they voted for a Republican, according to a Pew Research study released late last year."

Walker added, "I can't blame a lot on this generation. Because all they've heard are radical ideas and climate change and defunding the police, on abortion, and all these sorts of other issues. And so they have never heard the opposing viewpoint. And so if that's all they hear in college and high school and social media and culture, you can see why they've gone so lock step in that regard. We've got to turn that around."

The former governor's comments backfired significantly on social media.

@GoodPoliticGuy: "Republicans are incapable of understanding the reality of how their economic and political agenda has f**ked my generation. It's not indoctrination, it's capitalism and corruption."

@AOC: "If your assessment is that it's 'radical indoctrination' to not want some creepy legislator to control one's uterus, your problems are way bigger than voting. You will never win the argument that you should have more power over a woman's body than she does. That's a promise."

Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta: "'Young voters are the issue.' This is giving real Scooby-Doo villain energy. We would have gotten away with it without those meddling kids."

Heather Cox Richardson: "Did it ever occur to you that your people are the ones who have been indoctrinated with a false and radical worldview by right-wing media, while younger Americans are seeing the world for what it really is?"

Neil Hopkins: "Our policies suck and are super unpopular to educated young people - so we should get rid of education and stop young people from voting."


Kelly AuCoin: "Maybe they're sick of people like you poisoning the Earth they'll have to live on long after you’re gone. Maybe they'd rather not be shot in school. Maybe they reject your religious indoctrination. Maybe they want control over their own bodies. Maybe it’s you, Scott."

Mitch Dyer: "Young people participating in democracy is a problem for you huh"

Bradley P. Moss: "It can't be that they hate your policies. No, it has to be indoctrination."

Olivia Julianna: "Hey @ScottWalker my American Dream is being your worst nightmare. There are MILLIONS of young people exactly like me. I hope that fact haunts your every waking moment."

THE NEW CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERIKA
We are 'just beginning,' Tennessee GOP boasts in fundraiser after expelling Democrats

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams
April 07, 2023

Democratic state Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville gestures to supporters during a vote on his expulsion from the legislature at the State Capitol Building on April 6, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Seth Herald/Getty Images)

The Tennessee Republican Party waited less than 24 hours to start fundraising off the expulsion of two progressive lawmakers from the state House—openly bragging Friday about what critics have called a blatantly anti-democratic move that shows the party's growing authoritarianism.

State Reps. Justin Jones (D-52) and Justin Pearson (D-86) are two of three Democrats who joined protesters in interrupting a floor session on March 30 to demand gun control in the wake of last week's deadly school shooting in Nashville. Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday voted to expel both Black men from the chamber while a vote to expel their colleague Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-13), who is white, fell short.

In a Friday fundraising email, the Tennessee GOP said: "Their adolescence and immature behavior brought dishonor to the Tennessee General Assembly as they admitted to knowingly breaking the rules. Actions have consequences, and we applaud House Republicans for having the conviction to protect the rules, the laws, and the prestige of the State of Tennessee."

"Our fight is just beginning," the email concludes.

Progressives members of Congress had already denounced Tennessee Republicans for engaging in what U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) called "straight-up fascism in its ugliest, most racist form" before the fundraising email emerged.

Now, the Tennessee GOP is portraying the state's first partisan expulsion since the Civil War era as upholding "the rule of law" and is trying to capitalize on it.

Slate's Alexander Sammon warned that Thursday's vote "is a chilling portent of the future of Republican governance and the state of democracy nationwide."

"While Republicans have focused on gerrymandering and voter suppression as the primary prongs of their assault on democracy (as well as the occasional insurrection attempt)," he noted, "the willingness to expel democratically elected Democrats for minor-verging-on-made-up infractions portends a terrifying new development."

In a Friday statement, Public Citizen president Robert Weissman condemned Tennessee House Republicans for "summarily ending" the current terms of Jones and Pearson and "depriving their constituents of duly elected representation."

"This was a racist and disproportionate act of retaliation against legislators who had joined demonstrators chanting in the chamber, in protest of Republican refusal to adopt commonsense gun control measures in the wake of the March 27 school shooting in Nashville," said Weissman, who called Tennessee Republicans' move "flagrantly anti-democratic."

"American democracy is in a profound crisis... What just happened in Tennessee is yet another reminder of the perilous state of our country."

"In modern American history, expulsion of state legislators is very rare—not just in Tennessee but throughout the United States, and rightfully so. Legislators should expel elected officials only in extreme circumstances, not over policy differences or impingements on decorum," he continued. "Legislative supermajorities already have enormous power; when they wield that power to strip away even the offices of the minority, they are treading on very dangerous ground."

As Weissman pointed out, "Some Tennessee legislators—and a lot of MAGA commentary online—are un-ironically calling the state representatives' chanting an 'insurrection.'"

"Of course, the United States did witness a real insurrection on January 6, 2021," said Weissman. "Not one member of Congress was expelled for promoting [former President] Donald Trump's patently false claims that the 2020 election was 'stolen' from him or for supporting the attempted coup carried out at Trump's behest. Only 10 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives would vote to impeach Trump in the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, and only two of them were able to get re-elected."

"American democracy is in a profound crisis, riven by lies, right-wing extremism, conspiratorial thinking, and subservience to corporate and special interests, and racism," Weissman stressed. "What just happened in Tennessee is yet another reminder of the perilous state of our country."

Nevertheless, he continued, "a hopeful future is also a visible feature of our nation, demonstrated in the courage and principle of the targeted representatives... and the energy and commitment of the protesters—overwhelmingly young people—demanding justice and commonsense gun regulation."

"This is a powerful reminder that democracy does not die easily," Weissman added. "Indeed, the energy in Tennessee will help inspire and power the nationwide movement not just to defend but to expand and deepen our democracy, and we are committed to rising to the occasion, and being part of this movement to make our country a more just and equitable place for all."

Some evangelicals are marking this week as the Passion of Donald Trump

Trump's prosecution is not persecution. And his getting indicted doesn't constitute a sacrifice.

MAGA Jesus is not dead.Liza Evseeva / NBC NEWS

OPINION
April 7, 2023
By Anthea Butler, 

MSNBC Columnist

Holy Week has been hijacked by the spectacle of white evangelicals crying over their savior Donald Trump. The former president was charged by a Manhattan grand jury this week with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While the indictments are related to hush money Trump allegedly paid to cover up affairs and improperly recorded as business expenses, some supporters see this as Trump’s passion play. That is, they see his prosecution as a persecution, as a punishment Democrats are inflicting on him because he was their chosen one, the messiah who gave them power.

Holy Week has been hijacked by the spectacle of white evangelicals crying over their savior Donald Trump.

Trump’s arrest may be a first in American history, but for evangelicals who support him, it is the fulfillment of their prophecy of persecution for Trump, for whom many of them have shoved aside Jesus to praise. But this new passion play, which is centered around alleged adultery and payoffs, isn’t anything like the story of Jesus. This week’s story revolves around alleged behavior antithetical to Christian belief, behavior that has historically been anathema to evangelicals: adulterous sex — with a porn star, no less — and lying. Yet, white evangelicals are still supporting Trump.

A group of Trump-aligned evangelical pastors came together on a call to pray for Trump’s victory after his arraignment, and James Dobson, the evangelical pastor who founded “Focus on the Family,” prayed that God would “restore him to influence and power.” But the support for Trump goes far past mere prayers for him.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., said Tuesday, “President Trump is joining some of the most incredible people in history being arrested today. Nelson Mandela was arrested, served time in prison. Jesus! Jesus was arrested and murdered!” Anna Perez, the host of a show called “Wrong Think,” said in response to Trump’s Tuesday arrest, “President Trump would take a bullet for me. President Trump is taking a bullet for me. President Trump is prepared to take a bullet for all of us. What he’s is doing is Christlike. I never thought that before today ... He’s literally going to prison for us.”

Comparing Trump to religious and political martyrs is both laughable and frightening. Late last month, Joseph McBride, attorney for some Jan. 6 defendants, tweeted that Donald Trump is just as important to the United States now as Martin Luther King Jr. was the month before he was assassinated in 1968. Tuesday, on the 55th anniversary of that assassination, McBride tweeted: “MLK: April 4, 1968” and “TRUMP: April 4, 2023.”

While it may be hard to believe that Republican politicians, MAGA devotees and white evangelicals would say such things on the anniversary of King’s assassination and during the week leading up to Easter, I assure you that such statements are in keeping with the intertwined persecution narratives and grievances of the Republican Party and white evangelicals.

Trump has long known that by playing upon their fears and their grievances, he can manipulate evangelicals into abandoning their principles. They want the world, but especially the United States and its government, to be shaped by their religious beliefs, which are not compatible with traditional Christianity.

Trump has long known that by playing upon their fears and their grievances, he can manipulate evangelicals into abandoning their principles.

Jeff Sharlet, author of “The Undertow,” said it best when he described Trump’s indictment and arrest as the third stage of the theology of the Trumpocene - The Age of Martyrs. That age, he says, began with the killing of Ashli Babitt at the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But now Trump has shoved her aside to heave himself onto the cross of persecution.

This devotion to Trump isn’t mere loyalty to the Republican Party. It is religious fervor. Trump and the GOP have fused their fortunes together to become a religion of grievance and retribution. It’s why Trump’s last public appearance before his indictment was in Waco, Texas, where the Branch Davidian Compound engaged in a fateful standoff with the U.S. government.

Trump knows his followers want a theocracy. Look at the laws being enacted in places like Florida and Texas. The banning of books, the erasure of abortion access and the targeting of trans children and drag shows represent the deployment of wedge issues that has been a part of the evangelical and Republican playbook since the late 1970s. Trump himself is so adored because he gave them Supreme Court justices and judicial appointments at a level no other Republican did.

Make no mistake: Evangelicals aren’t leaving Trump. Far from it. In fact, he now embodies the white evangelical penchant to believe that they are a persecuted minority. Now that the president who gave them three Supreme Court justices has been arrested, their embrace of him is stronger than ever. They have elevated Trump to a godlike status, one whom they worship even with more fervor.

For other Republicans hoping to contest him for the presidential nomination in 2024, good luck. You’re going to need it. MAGA Jesus is not dead. He is rising in the polls and may be impossible for any Republican to beat.

Anthea Butler is a professor of religious studies and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Commentary: Eisenhower's misgivings about military power still ring true

2023/04/06

American President and former Allied General, Dwight D Eisenhower, addressing the nation in September 1958, on American intervention in Formosa. - Keystone/Hulton Archive/TNS

As an orator, Dwight D. Eisenhower was not in the same league with Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. His roster of memorable speeches numbers a grand total of two, a paltry total for someone who served eight years as U.S. president. Yet some five decades after his death, those two speeches retain at least as much salience as anything Lincoln or FDR ever said.

The second and more famous of those speeches was his Farewell Address in which Ike warned against the danger posed by what he called the “military-industrial complex.” The first, arguably less well remembered, became known as his “Cross of Iron” speech.

Ike used his Farewell Address, televised nationally on Jan. 17, 1961, to offer his final reflections on his public life. “Cross of Iron,” delivered 70 years ago this month, on April 16, 1953, was his first formal presentation following his inauguration. So the two presentations book-ended his presidency.

Together, they addressed a common theme to which Eisenhower attributed singular importance: the problematic relationship between military power and the practice of democracy. The former five-star general worried that the two were antithetical.

In 1953, Eisenhower tallied up the costs exacted by the militarization of U.S. policy prompted by the onset of the Cold War. Policies advertised as essential to preserving freedom and democracy exploited the very people they purported to protect. “Every gun that is made,” he said, “every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”

Expenditures justified as essential to preserving the American way of life subverted what they purported to uphold. “This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense,” Ike insisted. “Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.”

Eight years later, in his farewell to the nation, Ike took aim at the “disastrous rise of misplaced power” stemming from the “conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry.” Abetted by a pliant Congress, military and corporate leaders collaborated to advance their shared interests with the well-being of the American people consigned to the status of afterthought. The resulting corruption, hidden in plain sight, perverted national priorities and suborned democratic processes.

Over the course of two terms in office, Eisenhower made minimal progress in lifting humanity from the cross of iron. Indeed, policies undertaken by his administration drove new nails into the bleeding body. The vast expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, covert operations undertaken by the CIA, and the first stirrings of America’s Vietnam War – each occurring on his watch -- testify to the gap between what Ike professed and what he actually did.

Even so, the two speeches merit careful reflection in our own time. Granted, the concerns that Eisenhower expressed may sound almost quaint. But quaint is not necessarily untrue.

The notion that expending the nation’s treasure on guns, warships and rockets diverts resources from more important purposes survives today only on the far fringes of American politics. In Washington, that military spending will increase from one year to the next is today simply taken for granted. So when the Afghanistan War, longest in the nation’s history, ended in defeat, President Joe Biden and the Congress responded by increasing the size of the Pentagon budget. In Washington, few objected.

As for the incestuous relationship between the armed forces and weapons makers, Republicans and Democrats actively compete with one another for a cut of the spoils. Both parties accept the military-industrial complex as permanent and ignore its insidious implications. Ambitious politicians know better than to object to its existence.

In the 1950s, not an especially peaceful decade, Eisenhower had professed to believe that peace defined the ultimate aim of U.S. policy. He also contended that peace formed a prerequisite if American democracy was to flourish. In our own time, these qualify as radical propositions.

Today, peace has become a chimera and American democracy is on the ropes. Suspicions that something has gone fundamentally awry are widespread. Yet neither Joe Biden nor any of those who aspire to succeed him have offered an adequate explanation of what that might be.

Where should Americans look for answers? I submit that Eisenhower had an inkling.

“Is there no other way the world may live?” This was Ike’s plaintive query. The place to begin is at least to acknowledge the possibility of another way. War is a choice. As a powerful nation, the United States can choose otherwise.

____

ABOUT THE WRITER
Andrew Bacevich is chairman and co-founder of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. His most recent book is "On Shedding an Obsolete Past" (2022)

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX 

In Spain, brotherhood set up by slaves marches at Easter
Agence France-Presse
April 07, 2023

A 'penitent' from the Black Brotherhood holds his distinctive pointed hood before joining the traditional Maundy Thursday procession © CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP

For centuries, African slaves and emancipated men marched in Seville's Easter parades, carrying statues of Christ and the Virgin on their shoulders as part of a unique brotherhood that remains active today.

Founded more than 600 years ago, the Black Brotherhood is the oldest religious brotherhood still active in this southern city, which is widely seen as the centre of Holy Week celebrations in Spain.

Officially known as the "Most Holy Christ of the Foundation and Our Lady of Angels", the brotherhood has for centuries been known as "La Hermandad de los Negritos", a name its members chose themselves.

It is one of 70 brotherhoods and voluntary associations involved in staging multiple Easter week processions when Christians remember the death and resurrection of Jesus.

What's unique about this brotherhood is that it emerged in the late 14th century, made up of Africans -- both slaves and freedmen -- who were barred from similar organizations, says Isidoro Moreno, a retired anthropologist from Seville University.

The example was later "exported" to the Americas where "dozens of black brotherhoods (were set up) in the 16th century," says Moreno, author of a book called "The ancient brotherhood of the black people of Seville".

It was only at the end of the 19th century that the Brotherhood began admitting white people.

Black and African saints

Inside the Chapel of Our Lady of Angels, which was built in 1550 on a plot of land owned by the Brotherhood, there are icons of black saints such as Benedict the Moor from Sicily and Martin de Porres of Peru.

It was from here that the brothers and Nazarene "penitents" with their long robes and distinctive pointed hoods set out on Maundy Thursday for their annual procession to Seville Cathedral.

The pointed 'capirote' hoods originated in the 15th century when they were put over the heads of those condemned by the Inquisition.

They were later adopted by southern Spain's Catholic brotherhoods for use at Easter as a symbol of penitence, with white symbolizing purity.

Shouldering heavy floats depicting scenes from the Passion but also adorned with the faces of Ethiopian saints Elesban and Ephigenia, the Brotherhood's "costaleros" slowly made their way through the streets.

Among them is Raul de Lemos, a 19-year-old student and one of the few black members of the Brotherhood.

Being in the Brotherhood "is a good thing, a way of remembering the past," the bearded teen told AFP during rehearsals ahead of Holy Week.

Slavery

The Brotherhood emerged out of a refuge set up in the 1390s by Seville's archbishop Gonzalo de Mena for African slaves who were abandoned by their owners through advanced age or illness.

Slaves were allowed to join, "with their owners' permission", along with others who managed to buy their freedom or won it after their owners' died, Moreno said.

Following Europe's discovery of the Americas, there was rising demand for cheap labour which saw a growing number of Africans shipped into the Iberian Peninsula.

So great was the influx that Seville became one of Spain's biggest slavery centers, with Africans accounting for 12 percent of the city's population in the 16th and 17th centuries.

With most of the Brotherhood's members from the poorest sectors of society, they were subject to "much stricter" supervision by the Catholic Church with white ruling classes fearful of an uprising, Moreno says.

Saved by a papal edict

In 1604, a Maundy Thursday standoff saw its members come to blows with a brotherhood of nobles, leaving several people injured, Moreno says.

Several members were whipped, and the Brotherhood was forbidden to participate in the rest of the Holy Week processions.

The Brotherhood might have disappeared altogether without being saved by a papal edict in 1625, ratifying its existence and protecting it.

By the mid-18th century, it formally adopted "the Black Brotherhood" as its name, as it had long been known colloquially, Moreno says.

In the 19th century, when Seville's black population dwindled, the Brotherhood began admitting white people, little-by-little becoming a local institution for residents.

"What the Brotherhood is most proud of... is that we are the successors of those black people who fought so hard" to preserve the organization over time, said Alfredo Montilla, one of its leaders.


© 2023 AFP

Ousted Tennessee lawmaker Justin Jones vows to keep fighting for gun control

Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams
April 06, 2023

Democrat Justin Pearson rips Republicans as they move to expel him from Tennessee House

Justin Jones, the Democratic Tennessee lawmaker who was expelled from the state Legislature on Thursday, said he was trying to protect all children from the scourge of gun violence—including the children of the Republican colleagues who subsequently voted to oust him—while vowing to keep fighting for gun control.

Addressing the Republican lawmakers just before the 72-25 party-line vote, Jones (D-52) said, "To my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, I want to say that you have the votes to do what you're gonna do today but I wanna let you know that when I walked up to this well I was fighting for your children and grandchildren too."

Tennessee House Republicans targeted Jones, as well as state Reps. Gloria Johnson (D-90) and Justin Pearson after they used a bullhorn to lead chants supporting gun control legislation on the chamber floor Monday while thousands of Nashville-area students rallied outside following the March 27 mass shooting at Covenant School that left three 9-year-old students, three staff members, and the shooter dead.

After voting to expel Jones, GOP lawmakers called a vote on a resolution to oust Johnson. Although 65 Republicans voted in favor of the measure, that was not enough to reach the two-thirds majority required. A vote on the resolution to remove Pearson is expected later on Thursday evening.

Speaking before the vote to remove him from office, Jones said:

To those here who will cast a vote for expulsion, I was fighting for your children too, to live free from the terror of school shootings and mass shootings. When I walked up to this well last Thursday, I was thinking about the thousands of students who were outside demanding that we do something. In fact, many of their signs said, "Do something, do something, do something." That was their only ask of us, to respond to their grieving, to respond to a traumatized community. But in response to that, the first action of this body is to expel members for calling for commonsense gun legislation. We were calling for a ban of assault weapons and the response of this body is to assault democracy. This is a historic day for Tennessee but it is also a very dark day for Tennessee because it will signal to the nation that there is no democracy in this state. It will signal to the nation that if it can happen here in Tennessee, it's coming to your state next. And that is why the nation is watching what we do here.

"My prayer to you is even if you expel me that you still act to address the crisis of mass shootings because if I'm expelled from here, I'll be back out there with the people every week demanding that you act," Jones said. "If you expel me I'll continue to show up because this issue is too important."

\u201cBREAKING: Tennessee House Republicans have voted to expel Democrat Rep. Justin Jones as punishment for protesting against gun violence.\n\nThis is an attack on democracy.\n\nThank you @brotherjones_ for standing up for your constituents. This is far from over.\nhttps://t.co/rGrZ2N41Em\u201d

— Voto Latino (@Voto Latino) 1680815339

"And so if you expel me, I recognize that it's not just about expelling me, it's about expelling the people," Jones asserted. "But your action will do the exact opposite. It will galvanize them to see what is happening in this state requires sustained action. And so I hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle regardless of what you decide to do to me, because this is not about me, it's about those young people who are asking us to use our position and uphold our oath to protest and dissent from any action or legislation that is injurious to the people."

"I pray that we uphold our oath on this floor because, colleagues, the world is watching," he added.

\u201cIN THE ROTUNDA: \u201cWE STAND WITH JUSTIN!\u201d - @brotherjones_ right after being expelled. \n\n#TennesseeThree\u201d

— The Tennessee Holler (@The Tennessee Holler) 1680814416

After the expulsion vote, Jones was greeted by a passionate crowd of supporters in the State Capitol Rotunda, where he raised his fist while people chanted, "We stand with Justin."

"Republicans know they are on the losing side of history. This is proof," tweeted David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 massacre of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida and co-founder of March for Our Lives—which called Jones' expulsion "fascist, undemocratic behavior."

Olivia Juliana, director of politics and government affairs at the social media-based advocacy group Gen-Z for Change, wrote on Twitter that "Tennessee has given way to fascism."

"The Tennessee Three will not be forgotten," Juliana added. "This fight is far from over."

\u201cRep. \u2066@brotherjones_\u2069 is expelled. This image will remain, along with his powerful words. I believe that something powerful has shifted in Tennessee. The whole world is watching. Especially the young people of Tennessee.\u201d

— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sherrilyn Ifill) 1680813490

Sherrilyn Ifill, former president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said, "What I saw today was a naked display of power, an utter disregard for the basics of due process, and a window into the country waiting for all of us unless we fight."

Numerous observers said that instead of silencing Jones, Republicans ensured he was "elevated from obscurity to rising Democratic star."

\u201cThe Tennessee Legislature just expelled Justin Jones. They made a colossal mistake because this eloquent, incredibly talented young man is now a political superstar that #GenZ voters will fully support.\n#FreshStrong\n#TennesseeThree \n\u201d

— Southern Sister Resister - Wordsmith #IAmTheStorm (@Southern Sister Resister - Wordsmith #IAmTheStorm) 1680814078

"Young people around this country will be galvanized around him now, come out and vote, and they'll vote for Democrats across the board," predicted one Twitter user. "GOP will suffer tremendously from this."

'Gen Z don’t play': AOC says Tennessee’s ‘fascism’ is firing up young people

Gideon Rubin
April 06, 2023

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on MSNBC (screengrab)

Tennessee Republican lawmakers plunged the Volunteer State into controversy Thursday when the House expelled two Democrats who protested gun violence on the chamber floor last week.

Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, were among three lawmakers who protested gun violence in the aftermath of a mass shooting at a small Nashville Christian school that killed six, including three 9-year-old children. A third lawmaker, Gloria Johnson, survived her expulsion vote.

The expulsions over rules violations are the first in Tennessee House history.

But if the intent of the expulsions was to tamp down opposition to an agenda that in recent years has included loosening gun laws and banning drag shows, Tennessee House Republicans likely failed in spectacular fashion, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said.

“Republicans may think they won today in Tennessee, but their fascism is only further radicalizing and awakening an earthquake of young people, both in the South and across the nation. If you thought youth organizing was strong, just wait for what’s coming,”the progressive Democrat from New York tweeted Thursday.

“Gen Z don’t play.”

'Fascism, full stop': Progressives in Congress condemn expulsion of Tennessee Democrats

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams
April 07, 2023

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (Shutterstock)

Progressives in the U.S. Congress reacted with outrage Thursday after the Republican-dominated Tennessee House voted to expel two lawmakers who joined protesters in demanding gun control legislation during a demonstration inside the state Capitol last week.

"This is fascism," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). "Expelling your political opponents for demanding action on gun violence when children are dying is disgusting."

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) similarly called the expulsion of state Democratic Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson "straight-up fascism in its ugliest, most racist form." Jones and Pearson are both Black; a vote to expel their colleague Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, fell short.

"There is no justification for ousting two legislators who were protesting with and for their constituents," Lee said in a statement. "That two Black men were expelled for standing up against the murder of children—but not their white counterpart—says it all. People are dying because Republicans want to put politics over the lives of the people they represent. They ask for safety for themselves, but not for school children, and they'll sacrifice the lives of our loved ones for their lobbyists."
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"Now is not the time to be on the sidelines," Lee added. "We better fight back before it's too late."

Thursday's expulsion votes, held as furious demonstrators gathered inside the Capitol to protest the move, came less than two weeks after a mass shooting at a school in Nashville left three young children and three adults dead.

The expulsion resolutions were led by Republican Reps. Bud Hulsey, Gino Bulso, and Andrew Farmer, fervent opponents of gun control. Hulsey and Farmer have voted to further weaken Tennessee's firearm regulations on a number of occasions in recent years, earning them high marks from the National Rifle Association.

"This is fascism, full stop," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) tweeted following Thursday's votes. "MAGA Republicans are no longer content with inaction on gun violence—instead of thoughts and prayers, they want to silence and expel politicians who speak up to protect children. I vehemently condemn this racist, undemocratic assault on freedom of speech."

"Republicans may think they won today in Tennessee, but their fascism is only further radicalizing and awakening an earthquake of young people."

Tennessee Republicans—who likened the peaceful Capitol protests in the wake of the shooting to an "insurrection"—justified the removal of Jones and Pearson as a defense of decorum. Last week, Jones, Pearson, and Johnson took to the podium on the state House floor without recognition to show solidarity with those demanding legislative action in response to the massacre in Nashville—the 129th mass shooting in the U.S. this year.

THIS IS WHAT WHITE SUPREMACY LOOKS LIKE

Tennessee’s House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest

BACK TO THE 50'S THE 1850'S
Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House expelled two Democratic lawmakers over their roles in a gun control protest.

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat was narrowly spared by a one-vote margin.

The split votes drew accusations of racism, with lawmakers ousting Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who are both Black, while Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, survived the vote on her expulsion. Republican leadership denied that race was a factor, however.

The visitors’ gallery exploded in screams and boos following the final vote. After sitting quietly for hours and hushing anyone who cried out during the proceedings, people broke into chants of “Shame!” and “Fascists!”

Banishment is a move the chamber has used only a handful times since the Civil War. Most state legislatures have the power to expel members, but it is generally reserved as a punishment for lawmakers accused of serious misconduct, not used as a weapon against political opponents.

GOP leaders said Thursday’s actions were necessary to avoid setting a precedent that lawmakers’ disruptions of House proceedings through protest would be tolerated.

Republican Rep. Gino Bulso said the three Democrats had “effectively conducted a mutiny.”

At an evening rally, Jones and Pearson pledged to be back at the Capitol next week advocating for change.

“Rather than pass laws that will address red flags and banning assault weapons and universal background checks, they passed resolutions to expel their colleagues,” Jones said. “And they think that the issue is over. We’ll see you on Monday.”

Jones, Pearson and Johnson joined in protesting last week as hundreds of demonstrators packed the Capitol to call for passage of gun-control measures. As the protesters filled galleries, the three approached the front of the House chamber with a bullhorn and participated in a chant. The scene unfolded days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school where six people were killed, including three children.

Pearson told reporters Thursday that in carrying out the protest, the three had broken “a House rule because we’re fighting for kids who are dying from gun violence and people in our communities who want to see an end to the proliferation of weaponry in our communities.”

Johnson, a retired teacher, said her concern about school shootings was personal, recalling a day in 2008 when students came running toward her out of a cafeteria because a student had just been shot and killed.

“The trauma on those faces, you will never, ever forget,” she said.

Thousands of people flocked to the Capitol to support Jones, Pearson and Johnson on Thursday, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber loudly enough to drown out the proceedings.

The trio held hands as they walked onto the floor and Pearson raised a fist during the Pledge of Allegiance.

Offered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.

“We called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy,” he said.

Jones vowed that even if expelled, he would continue pressing for action on guns.

“I’ll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act,” he said.

Bulso accused Jones of acting with “disrespect” and showing “no remorse.”

“He does not even recognize that what he did was wrong,” Bulso said. “So not to expel him would simply invite him and his colleagues to engage in mutiny on the House floor.”

The two expelled lawmakers may not be gone for long. County commissions in their districts get to pick replacements to serve until a special election can be scheduled and they could opt to choose Jones and Pearson. The two also would be eligible to run in those races.

Under the Tennessee Constitution, lawmakers cannot be expelled for the same offense twice.

During discussion, Republican Rep. Sabi Kumar advised Jones to be more collegial and less focused on race.

“You have a lot to offer, but offer it in a vein where people are accepting of your ideas,” Kumar said.

Jones said he did not intend to assimilate in order to be accepted. “I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make a change for my community,” he replied.

Fielding questions from lawmakers, Johnson reminded them that she did not raise her voice nor did she use the bullhorn — as did the other two, both of whom are new lawmakers and among the youngest members in the chamber.

But Johnson also suggested race was likely a factor on why Jones and Pearson were ousted but not her, telling reporters it “might have to do with the color of our skin.”

That notion was echoed by state Sen. London Lamar, a Democrat representing Memphis.

Lawmakers “expelled the two black men and kept the white woman,” Lamar, a Black woman, said via Twitter. “The racism that is on display today! Wow!”

However, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican who voted to expel all three, denied that race was at play and said Johnson’s arguments might have swayed other members.

“Our members literally didn’t look at the ethnicity of the members up for expulsion,” Majority Leader William Lamberth added. He alleged Jones and Pearson were trying to incite a riot last week, while Johnson was more subdued.

In Washington, President Joe Biden also was critical of the expulsions, calling them “shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent.”

“Rather than debating the merits of the issue (of gun control), these Republican lawmakers have chosen to punish, silence, and expel duly-elected representatives of the people of Tennessee,” Biden said in a statement.

Before the expulsion votes, House members debated more than 20 bills, including a school safety proposal requiring public and private schools to submit building safety plans to the state. The bill did not address gun control, sparking criticism from some Democrats that it only addresses a symptom and not the cause of school shootings.

Past expulsion votes have taken place under distinctly different circumstances.

In 2019, lawmakers faced pressure to expel former Republican Rep. David Byrd over accusations of sexual misconduct dating to when he was a high school basketball coach three decades earlier. Republicans declined to take action, pointing out that he was reelected as the allegations surfaced. Byrd retired last year.

Last year, the state Senate expelled Democrat Katrina Robinson after she was convicted of using about $3,400 in federal grant money on wedding expenses instead of her nursing school.

Before that, state lawmakers last ousted a House member in 2016 when the chamber voted 70-2 to remove Republican Rep. Jeremy Durham over allegations of improper sexual contact with at least 22 women during his four years in office.

 

 

 

 

 

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Taiwan faces choice of 'peace and war', ex-president says after China trip

ISN'T THAT SUPPOSED TO BE 'OR'

Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou speaks to the media at Taoyuan international airport after concluding his 12-day trip to China in Taoyuan, Taiwan April 7, 2023. REUTERS/I-Hwa Cheng

Tension with China has escalated under Taiwan's government and the island will in future have to choose between "peace and war", former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said on Friday at the end of a landmark visit to China.

Ma is the first former Taiwanese president to ever visit China. Since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, no serving island leader has visited China.

China sends warships and aircraft around Taiwan for second day

"Our administration continues to lead Taiwan to danger. The future is a choice between peace and war," Ma told reporters at Taiwan's main airport after arriving from Shanghai at the end of his 12-day visit to China.

Ma was president from 2008 to 2016 as the head of a Kuomintang (KMT) government. The party, now in opposition, favours close ties with China, which claims the island as its own.

Ma's visit came at a time of heightened tension with China's anger roused this week by a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, during a stopover by the Taiwan leader in the United States.

Beijing has been stepping up its political and military pressure to get democratically governed Taiwan to accept Chinese sovereignty.

Tsai and her government reject that and say only the island's people can decide their future.

Tsai's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticised Ma's trip but he said it had proven that Taiwan and China could engage under the principle that both are part of a single China though each can have its own interpretation of the term.

Ma said Taiwan could share a "common political basis" with China, which would be in the best interests of the people of Taiwan.

Tsai's DPP said in a statement Ma had become an "accomplice" of Beijing's "one China" principle and he had failed to take the opportunity to defend Taiwan's sovereignty.

Tsai has offered talks with China but Beijing, which views her as a separatist, has rebuffed her.

Ma met Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015 in Singapore, shortly before Tsai was elected president, but he did not meet the Chinese leader on this trip.

He visited historic sites in several cities including Wuhan, where he met Song Tao, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

The KMT has defended its contacts with China saying it is trying to reduce tension and it will trumpet that line in the run-up to a presidential election in January.

Ma said he would continue to work in a private capacity "to ensure Taiwan has a future of real peace and safety".