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Google and Twitter employees are flooding Democratic campaigns and committees with cash, campaign finance records show, as Republicans argue that the tech titans censor conservative voices.

The top donors fromGoogle, which owns YouTube, pushed 94% of their total 2022 political contributions to Democrats, as did 99% of Twitter employee donations, the records show.

(Olly Curtis/Future via Getty Images via Getty Images)

"From the top to the bottom, these companies are overwhelmingly liberal, overwhelmingly pro-Democrat," Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center told Fox News. "At the top, they contribute to Democrat causes. At the bottom, they contribute to Democrat causes in overwhelming numbers."

Individual donors at Google who contributed $2,000 or more for the midterm elections have given a combined $690,300 to Democrats and Republicans this campaign cycle, Federal Election Commissionrecordsshow.

The vast majority of that amount has filled Democratic coffers.

YOUTUBE REMOVES VIDEO OF GEORGIA MOTHER CRITICIZING MASK MANDATES FOR CHILDREN:'MEDICAL MISINFORMATION'

Those Google employees provided $652,600 to Democrats and just $37,700 to Republicans, meaning that just over 94% of those donations went to Democrats.

Employees at Alphabet, Google's parent company, and its affiliated organizations contributed nearly$22 millionto Democrats during the 2020 elections compared to $1.4 million to Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. President Biden took in nearly $4.4 million from those individuals.

Twitter employees also drastically favor Democrats. Individuals at the company have given 99% of their nearly $15,000 in political donations to Democrats for the 2022 elections, theNew York Postreported.

Democrats on the federal level raked in98%of Twitter employee donations during the last cycle, data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics shows.

"That's the problem, the politics of the day who and what is happening is being decided by people all of one political stripe, all of one political party," Gainor told Fox News.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Gainor, vice president of Free Speech America at the Media Research Center, helps run a website calledCensorTrack.org, which chronicles instances where right-leaning accounts and individuals were silenced. The site's running tracker has tallied 3,185 such cases involving YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

SEN. RAND PAUL EXPLAINS WHY HE IS LEAVING YOUTUBE

YouTube has several recent cases where right-wing figures were silenced, according to the website and news articles. Ivy Choi, a Google spokesperson, told Fox News that YouTube's Community Guidelines publicly outline what is and what is not allowed on the platform and are enforced equally for everyone.

In December, the platform suspended Steven Crowder a conservative comedian and political commentator after an episode of his show called "The Left HATES Elon Musk Because He's Too Based!" featured a parody song about a transgender individual in a romantic relationship. Choi said Crowder repeatedly targeted the LGBTQ+ community.

That same month, YouTubeset an age-restriction on a video from Young America's Foundation, a conservative organization, on "Victims of Socialism," which featured a seminar from George Harbison, a retired chief financial officer. Choi said the content didn't violate their policies but may not be appropriate for children under 18.

YouTube received widespread criticism after deleting rapper Bryson Gray's popular "Let's Go Brandon" song from its platform for "medical misinformation." Choi said the social media site removed the video for claims that the pandemic isn't real and that the COVID-19 vaccines don't work

"YouTube has banned Lets Go Brandon song from YouTube due to medical information, Gray posted on Twitter at the time. "What medical misinformation is in the song? Whoa."

"Why is the most censored rapper in the country someone that doesn't even curse in songs?" Gray told Fox News. "Why can you rap about murder, sex and drugs, but when I rap about questioning the government I get banned? Is this still America?"

YouTube also removed a speech fromRep. Darrell Issa, alleging that the California Republican violated its rules against anti-vaccine information. Issa supported vaccines during the speech,Fox News reported.

And recently, YouTuberemoveda video from conservative documentary filmmakers and podcasters Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer for "medical misinformation," following an episode in which McAleer joked that it's "great the pandemic is over and lockdowns are finished."

Choi said YouTube later reinstated McAleer's and Issa's videos after further review.

DR. ROBERT MALONE ON JOE ROGAN INTERVIEW CENSORSHIP, TWITTER BAN: 'YOU CAN'T SUPPRESS INFORMATION'

(REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)

Twitter, likewise, has faced accusations of biased censorship.

Most recently, the social media platform removed Georgia Republican Rep. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene's personal account from its website for violating its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

Twitteralso bannedDr. Robert Malone, a contributor to mRNA vaccine technology, days before he appeared on Joe Rogan's popular podcast to discuss the government's response to theCOVID-19pandemic and vaccines.

Gainor told Fox News that the "overwhelming spin" on censorship incidents is against Republicans.

"When Donald Trump was shut down, prior to that point, his account had been censored 625 times," Gainor said. "Biden, zero. That's a pretty substantial difference."

Since then, 54 Republican members of Congress have been censored on social media platforms compared to just one Democrat, according to Gainor.

He further noted that Facebook censored the Democrat but apologized and "canceled the censorship two hours later."

"On social media, if you dare criticize anything about vaccines, even if you point out masking cloth masks for instance, which aren't very effective if you pointed that out for a long time on social media you'd be suspended or banned, even though it's factually true," Gainor said.

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A growing contingency of experts have said cloth masks are not as effective at protecting against the Omicron variant as N95 or K95 masks, though they've also said that some form of face-covering is better than none.

"The media and big tech have sort of worked together on this to silent dissent," Gainor said.

Twitter did not respond to a Fox News request for comment.

Continued here:

Google, Twitter employees flood Democrats with donations as companies are accused of censoring conservatives - Fox News

It was a visceral cry at the moment of maximum peril for American democracy.

A furious mob had overrun police and was nearly at the door of the House of Representatives. Inside the chamber, Republican Paul Gosar was launching a spurious challenge to Joe Bidens election victory in Arizona.

Then, at the back of the gallery on the second floor, Democrat Dean Phillips rose to his feet and screamed at the top of his lungs at Gosar: This is because of you!

The outburst was out of character for a Minnesota nice congressman with a reputation for moderation and working across the aisle. But a year later, Phillips remains convinced it was an urgent and necessary response to the deadly insurrection inspired by then president Donald Trump.

Its not my style to break decorum and to scream, he told the Guardian, but I have to say at that moment I felt the way that tens of millions of Americans did, which is there were people responsible for what was about to transpire and there are moments where you do what you got to do, and I had to do it. I dont regret it one bit because its true.

Phillips, 52, comes from a business background. He led a family-owned distillery producing vodka, gin, rum and other liquors and ice cream company. He was elected to Congress in 2018, representing Minnesotas third congressional district, and is vice chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.

I never imagined Id be doing this, he admits. I woke up the morning after the 2016 election, saw the reaction of my daughters, who were 18 and 16 at that time their fear, their tears and I promised them right then and there I would do something, and here I am.

On 6 January 2021, he had been advised that there could be trouble so told his staff to stay home. He watched his office TV horrified as Trump gave a speech urging supporters to fight like hell to overturn his defeat. He then walked to the House to begin certifying Bidens election victory. But soon he received text messages from anxious family members showing video of protests forming outside.

I asked my colleague, Tom Malinowski from New Jersey, to walk from the House chamber with me to look out the windows and a Capitol police officer literally screamed at us to get away from the windows and get back into the House chamber. We asked if everything was OK, and Ill never forget it she said, Youre in the United States Capitol. Its the most secure building in the country.

They returned to the House chamber just as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were being evacuated. Gosar was at the microphone, leading efforts to subvert his states electoral college vote, when the sergeant-at-arms urged members to take cover behind seats and prepare their smoke hoods prompting Phillips to feel fury and let rip at the Trump loyalist.

While members on the House floor were able to escape, there was no way out for 20 sitting up in the gallery due to coronavirus safety measures. I screamed at my colleagues at that moment to follow me to the Republican side of the chamber because I thought it would be safer, Phillips says. I thought the insurrectionists were coming for us.

First, it was almost impossible to get through these railings; you either had to go under or over. But more than that, I recognized at that very moment that a lot of my colleagues couldnt blend in. Im talking about those of color. It really left an indelible mark on me.

That whole day changed me, of course, as it would anybody, to recognise that privilege and the fragility of democracy and also a significant increase in my empathy for those who have endured trauma in their lives, which is life-changing.

Rioters reached the doors of the House chamber but found their way blocked by an improvised barricade and Capitol police with guns drawn. After an ordeal lasting about 25 minutes, Phillips recalls, members in the gallery were led out by a Capitol police officer and through a maze of tunnels.

We ran into the Rayburn lunch room and it was a bizarre moment because there were people just having lunch at the tables. The sun was shining in from the big plate glass windows and here we are, an officer with a rifle running with us into the lunch room and people just stunned, looking at us like, what the hecks going on? Of course, the TVs moments later would sure change that.

The group was then moved on to a committee room where they were finally safe. But their shared ordeal would stay with them. They now call themselves the gallery group and still meet regularly, sometimes with facilitators or therapists. Its been the most wonderful support group imaginable because we endured it together, Phillips says.

On the night of 6 January, with the Capitol finally secured, they and other members returned to the House and Senate to finish the job and ratify Biden as president. For a fleeting moment, it seemed that Democrats and Republicans were united in completing the work of democracy and jettisoning the authoritarianism of Trump. But it was not to last.

In the year since the insurrection, some Republicans have embraced Trumps big lie and his portrayal of the mob as patriots driven by a noble cause; others have simply remained tight-lipped and failed to denounce it. Phillips, who sees them up close during sessions of Congress, believes they are motivated by self-preservation of both position and personal safety.

Thats perhaps the saddest part of all this. Many of my colleagues especially those who voted to impeach, those who voted to impanel the January 6 commission, those who voted to certify the election have received horrifying threats to their safety and the safety of their loved ones. Its an unenviable position but its also our responsibility and duty. I understand self-preservation but I do wish principle would take precedence, he says.

It has been difficult for Phillips to witness 6 January denialism as Republicans and rightwing media attempt to rewrite the history of what happened that day, variously characterising it as a normal tourist visit or an FBI false flag operation designed to entrap Trump supporters. The former president himself insisted that his followers were hugging and kissing police.

The Democrat says: This is one of those rare occasions where I was there. I was inside. I heard the gunshot. I saw the remnants of the insurrection in the rotunda and went with [Congressman] Andy Kim at midnight that night to help clean it up when I saw him on his hands and knees alone.

I saw the body armour. I saw the clubs. I saw faeces. I saw the speakers office ransacked. I saw with my own eyes people on the ground under arrest. I saw the mob breaking in. I met with the officers who were subject to it since. I was there to bear witness to it and to hear people say it didnt happen or it wasnt a big deal or its time to move on, shame on them.

Republicans denial of reality, and continued addiction to Trump, has raised fears that 6 January was the beginning, not the end, of American democracys near death experience. The party is imposing sweeping voter restrictions across the country and seeking to put big lie believers in charge of future elections. Trump could mount another bid for the White House in 2024 with many checks and balances no longer in place.

Phillips comments: We are at the precipice of a very slippery slope and its a long way up the mountain when youre building a democracy but its a fast ride down when it slips away. We collectively have to make a choice and a decision here, starting with the simple fact that this is not something that one side or the other can win.

If one side upends democracy and destroys its institutions and disrespects the rule of law, chaos will result, violence will result and everything that those propagating this claim is important to them a strong, stable, secure, prosperous country will have been lost. Thats why I try to be a voice of reason and a bridge builder, not a destroyer.

A self-described eternal optimist, Phillips believes there is still a cohort in the Republican party that can find a way back to the mainstream. He describes Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, Trump critics serving on the House select committee investigating 6 January, as heroic.

I know there are more that share that sentiment that simply are not as public. I have confidence that we will see some type of restoration of principle, assuming American voters find that important.

The congressmans efforts to lower the political temperature include a series of common ground get-togethers in his home district that encourage mutual understanding between constituents across the ideological spectrum.

He says: Theyve inspired me and made me more optimistic because Ive discovered when, with some intention, you bring people together with disparate political perspectives and break bread, get to know each other and share life stories, common ground is readily available and easily discoverable.

But in this age of polarisation and negative partisanship, there must be some awkward conversations? We had an experience just a few weeks ago in which someone pulled up in what would be considered a vehicle that a Donald Trump supporter might be driving and someone who was on the far left of that person in a very uncomfortable moment but it turned out to be a very productive one acknowledged what she felt when she saw that vehicle pull into the parking lot and what she expected of the person who drove it.

It took courage to share that. It took courage for the driver of the vehicle to listen to it. At the end of the evening, for both of them to recognise their shared humanity and shared interest in a safe and secure country, was a moment of great reassurance but one that can only occur if people stop stereotyping and actually start breaking bread together.

Read more here:

I was there: Democrat recalls horror and fury on day of Capitol attack - The Guardian

In the year since the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, a handful of Democrats, constitutional scholars and pro-democracy advocates have been quietly exploring how a post-Civil War amendment to the Constitution might be used to disqualify former President TrumpDonald TrumpFox News tops ratings for coverage on Jan. 6 anniversary events Sunday shows preview: Congress marks Jan. 6 anniversary; US, Russia to hold talks amid rising tensions Democrats must close the perception gap MORE from holding office again.

Calls for Congress to take steps to strip Trump of his eligibility, which reached a crescendo in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot, have since decreased. But those who remain engaged on the issue say discussions about applying Section 3 of the 14th Amendment have been ongoing.

If anything, the idea has waxed and waned, said Laurence Tribe, a constitutional expert at Harvard Law School. I hear it being raised with considerable frequency these days both by media commentators and by members of Congress and their staffs, some of whom have sought my advice on how to implement Section 3.

An analysis by The Hill found that around a dozen Democratic lawmakers have spoken either publicly or privately over the last year about how Section 3 of the 14th Amendment might apply to those who engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6.

Among those whose offices have spoken recently with Tribe are Rep. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinSunday shows preview: Congress marks Jan. 6 anniversary; US, Russia to hold talks amid rising tensions The 'hero' of Jan. 6 should embrace the truth The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Altria - Marking the Jan. 6 'chaos and carnage' MORE (D-Md.), who sits on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee; Rep. Jerry NadlerJerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats quietly explore barring Trump from office over Jan. 6 The Memo: Nation's racial reckoning plays out in 2021's big trials House Judiciary asks for expanded probe of FBI response to Portland protests MORE (D-N.Y.), who chairs the powerful House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Debbie Wasserman SchultzDeborah (Debbie) Wasserman SchultzDemocrats quietly explore barring Trump from office over Jan. 6 Omar allies dig in on calls for Boebert punishment Lobbying world MORE (D-Fla.).

I continue to explore all legal paths to ensure that the people who tried to subvert our democracy are not in charge of it, Wasserman Schultz told The Hill.

Nadler and Raskin did not respond to a request for comment.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War, says that officeholders who "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same" are disqualified from future office.

Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, served as a House manager during Trumps impeachment trial over his role in the Jan. 6 attack. Days after Trump's acquittal in the Senate, Raskin discussed the constitutional provision in a press interview, saying Trump was right in the bullseye middle of that group."

"The point is that the constitutional purpose is clear, to keep people exactly like Donald Trump and other traitors to the union from holding public office," he told ABC News on Feb. 17, adding that the legal mechanics would require "more research."

Most constitutional scholars who spoke to The Hill think the provision is not self-executing. In practical terms, that means applying Section 3 to Trump would require an additional step by lawmakers to make the 14th Amendment operative.

Some scholars believe that Congress, by a simple majority in both chambers, could act on its own to find Trump engaged in insurrection, which would implicate the constitutional provision. Under the 14th Amendment, restoring Trumps eligibility would then require a supermajority vote.

Other experts, like Tribe of Harvard, say Congress would need to go further, either by establishing a neutral fact-finding body to determine whether Trump engaged in insurrection under Section 3, or assigning that fact-finding role to a federal court.

One bill, introduced by Rep. Steve CohenStephen (Steve) Ira CohenDemocrats quietly explore barring Trump from office over Jan. 6 Progressives win again: No infrastructure vote Thursday Liberals defy Pelosi, say they'll block infrastructure bill MORE (D-Tenn.) after Trumps Senate impeachment trial last February, would permit the attorney general to make the case before a three-judge panel that an office holder hadviolated the provision and should be barred from future office.

In addition to legislative discussions, other efforts have focused on pressuring state elections officials with a view toward private litigation over the issue.

One pro-democracy group, Free Speech For People, has mounted a pressure campaign on top state elections officials to apply the 14th Amendment to Trump should he run again. Doing so would effectively bar Trumps name from appearing on their states ballot in 2024.

This summer, the group sent letters to chief election officials for all 50 states and Washington, D.C., making the case that they have a constitutional duty to bar Trump from appearing on future state ballots. The group argues the provision doesnt require additional steps by Congress because the 14th Amendment is already operative by itself.

Just as states are permitted (if not required) to exclude from the presidential ballot a candidate who is not a natural born citizen, who is underage, or who has previously been elected twice as president, so too states should exclude from the ballot a candidate, such as Mr. Trump, who previously swore to support the Constitution, but then engaged in insurrection, their letter to Georgia's top election official argues.

And if the elections officials dont comply?

We intend to litigate this question, John Bonifaz, the group's president, told The Hill. So if a secretary of state does not follow the mandate of Section 3, the 14th Amendment, we will bring this matter in court.

But some scholars think such lawsuits could face serious hurdles and would likely face a challenge in the Supreme Court.

If a Secretary of State declines to find Trump ineligible, it is far from clear who could challenge that determination, said Gerard Magliocca, a law professor at Indiana University, who noted that state law varies widely on the issue.

According to Tribe, if lawsuits arose over Trump's eligibility in 2024, the outcome of that litigation would likely hinge on whether a neutral fact-finder setup by Congress had previously determined that Trump's role in the Jan. 6 attack triggered Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Absent that, a lawsuit by Trump challenging his exclusion from a ballot would stand a good chance of success, he said.

Whether a push for Trump's disqualification under the 14th Amendment gains wider support or more legislative traction may turn on what the Jan. 6 House panel ultimately reveals about his role.

Once that committee makes clear, as I trust it will, that what took place was indeed an insurrection that triggers Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and that supports criminal prosecution by DOJ of those responsible, it is difficult to imagine this not becoming a logical next step, Tribe said.

Mike Lillis contributed to this report.

Continued here:

Democrats quietly explore barring Trump from office over Jan. 6 | TheHill - The Hill

Updated, 8:45 AM, 1/4/22:

More than two-and-a-half times as many Democrats changed their party registrations to Republican in Nevada during December, according to figures from the secretary of state.

About one and a half times more Dems switched to nonpartisan as did Republicans. (Those Independent American party numbers below surely reflect many who thought they were switching to nonpartisan, and Dems lost more there, too.)

I will be tracking this all year. The numbers for last month:

Democrat to Republican: 350

Republican to Democrat: 142

Democrat to nonpartisan: 587

Republican to nonpartisan: 395

Democrat to IAP: 195

Republican to IAP: 150

Democrat to Other: 11

Republican to Other: 16

----

All major party branding problems are equal, but some are more equal than others.

To wit:

More than two and a half times as many Democrats have switched their voter registrations to Republicans as vice-versa during the last three months, a statistic with ominous portents for Democratic candidates.

The numbers since September also show that one and a half times as many Democrats switched to nonpartisan as did Republicans numbers also reflected in how many major party voters would rather be members of The Jedi Party or some other minor or essentially nonexistent party.

Here are the numbers, via the secretary of state:

Democrat to Republican: 1,912

Republican to Democrat: 736

Democrat to nonpartisan: 3,555

Republican to nonpartisan: 2,262

Democrat to IAP: 1,025

Republican to IAP: 1,017

Democrat to Other: 2,524

Republican to Other: 1,647

So what does this mean? Some thoughts insertingcaveat that this is just three months of stats and it is a long way before November 2022:

---I am sure Dems were hopeful that the Trump brand would have caused more Republicans to flee than Democrats. But the Biden brand is now proving toxic or appears to be at least in 2021.

---These numbers are relatively small considering the 1.8 million registered voters in Nevada. But if this pattern continues well into 2022, it could well be the canary in the coal mine for a red wave.

---I still believe most of those going to the Independent American Party think they are registering as independents.

---The Other number should worry the Dems, too. Ill keep an eye on that pattern, too.

I have often said demographics are not destiny, and as always, the Democrats (not the socialists) will be better at executing than the Republicans next year. But national atmospherics and math matter, and these numbers reinforce that even though Republicans seem poised to have an inferior slate of candidates, most of them will have a chance if this continues.

Read the original post:

UPDATE: Trend continues of more Dems switching to GOP than vice-versa - The Nevada Independent

I was raised in a Republican household. I remember my mom sending me, as a 10-year-old, to school in red, white and blue on Election Day 1972, with a white elephant on a pendant around my neck. I didnt have any idea of the significance at the time, and none of us could have known how that election would shape our countrys political landscape.

I have always been particularly interested in what I now know are social justice issues. As a teenager I just thought of it as living the Christian gospels, caring for the poor, the needy the homeless and immigrants among us. So I registered as a Democrat on my 18th birthday because of the social justice leanings of the party.

Jennifer Jenkins (right), seconds after finding out she won the Brevard School Board District 3 seat, hugs her husband, Sam, and her campaign manager, Pamela Castellana.

The election of Donald Trump in 2016 brought a lot of people out of their armchairs and into the realm of politics from both political divides for so many reasons. Blame social media, blame the exceptionally unique candidacy Trump provided. Whatever the reason, we are different today. The average voter is much more aware of issues involving them, but not always how their vote matters.

I spent the last four years learning the ins and outs of our local politics, and was elected to the position of chair of Brevard Democrats in November 2020. Since then Ive seen both the best and worst Brevard has to offer.

Ive seen our long-term congressman, a man who ran as a moderate (and for whom I voted in the past) dissent in the certification of Arizonas fair election results, a choice that contributed to The Big Lie and the disastrous events of Jan. 6, 2021. Ive seen that same man utter a juvenile, veiled pejorative of our president from the congressional floor. Ive seen him vote over and over in ways that hurt the citizens of Brevard County.

Ive seen locally elected state representatives run roughshod over average citizens as well as other equally elected officials, using their bully pulpit to indeed, bully their constituents. Ive seen them lie, cheat and attempt to steal our free and fair elections right here in Brevard County.

Story continues

Ive seen vulgarities at once-boring school board meetings and more.

And yet I remain hopeful.

Pamela Castellana is chair of Brevard Democrats.

Ive seen my Republican neighbors share from their abundance with others in need. Ive seen my Republican family mourn in love as we lost our patriarch and matriarch. Ive shared meals with dearly beloved Republican friends. I know we can work together for the betterment of our community.

Looking into 2022, I see political battle lines being drawn, but they dont have to be actual battle lines.

Ive spent 26 years here in Brevard County, listening to my friends, to new friends and strangers, listening to their hopes and fears, their dreams and aspirations. It is my concerted goal to provide Democratic candidates for every level of government who will work with their Republican counterparts to meet the needs of their communities. Working with a team of super-dedicated patriotic Americans, including several military veterans, retired teachers, defense contractors in short, Brevardians from every walk of life we will fight fiercely for our values of equal economic, criminal and educational justice. We will fight to defend access to and improve our public school system. We will fight to save our manatees and our entire lagoon. We will fight for economic justice so that no one wants for basics such as food, shelter and affordable health care in our county.

Brevard Democrats chair Pamela Castellana, right, pictured before the 2020 election, says: "Not voting for candidates Brevard Democrats promote does not make you my enemy, in spite of what a very loud, very small group of voices says. It simply makes you my political opponent. In this new era, I will listen to anyone with a goal of joint solutions."

All the same, not voting for candidates Brevard Democrats promote does not make you my enemy, in spite of what a very loud, very small group of voices says. It simply makes you my political opponent. In this new era, I will listen to anyone with a goal of joint solutions. I will meet with anyone with good intentions for our community and Ill listen without prejudging. Anyone.

No matter how hard and loud my political opponents try and push me and my party down, Im not pushing back. Im pushing ahead and Im not quitting.

Because our beautiful, unique county deserves far better than the ugliness its been served in our partisan infighting.

Pamela Castellana is chair of Brevard Democrats.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Our county deserves more than this ugly partisan infighting| Opinion

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Democrats will fight for our values, but we're open to joint solutions, too | Opinion - Yahoo News

OPINION:

The wheels of justice sometimes grind very slowly.

Or not at all.

In our current system, it appears that the only thing that matters is which party you belong to.

Corrupt Democrats almost never face punishment for their crimes. It doesnt matter how glaring the evidence.

IRS official Lois Lerner retired with full benefits after getting caught using the IRS to target conservative groups such as tea parties during the Obama years. Likewise, FBI officials who pushed the false Russian collusion hoax against former President Donald Trump before and after the 2016 election have never faced justice. Nor have congressional Democrats like Adam Schiff, who got caught in blatant lies, saying he had proof of Russian collusion when he did not. Or Hillary Clinton for her 33,000 lost emails and smashed cellphones.

No one in the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, which paid for the fake dossier that launched the first impeachment of Mr. Trump, is facing any serious charges.

Republicans, on the other hand, such as former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn, who a politicized FBI entrapped, are guilty before they are proven innocent.

This past week, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office dropped its investigation of Democrat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over thousands of deaths in his states nursing homes. Cuomos state Health Department had issued March 25, 2020, directive ordering nursing homes to take in COVID-19-positive patients.

State officials then withheld data on the full number of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents, and aides to Mr. Cuomo successfully pushed to use a lower tally in a Health Department report on the matter, reported The Wall Street Journal. Nothing to see here.

Democrat state health officials in New Jersey and Pennsylvania also issued disastrous orders to nursing homes and have faced no consequences. This includes the celebrated transgender now-Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Rachel Levine, who moved her mother out of a Pennsylvania facility before her order took effect.

Mr. Cuomo also ducked more bullets when prosecutors in Albany and Rochester dropped charges related to his alleged groping and sexual harassment of aides. He had been threatened with impeachment and resigned in August after New York State Attorney General Letitia James issued a report accusing him of harassing 11 women.

Still, Mr. Cuomo is out and about doing whatever. While Mr. Cuomo celebrates his good fortune to be a Democrat, Ms. James is still pursuing a four-year inquiry against Mr. Trump, his businesses and even the business dealings of his children.

Another glaring difference that defies the concept of equal justice is the treatment of hundreds of Trump supporters in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot as opposed to the thousands of left-wing peaceful protesters who committed crimes during the Black Lives Matter/Antifa race riots that ripped through more than 140 cities in 2020.

An updated tally sheet at realclearinvestigations.com reveals the blatant disparities in destruction, crimes, costs and consequences.The 2020 race riots, with 574 instances of violent acts, resulted in some 15 times more injured police officers, 23 times as many arrests, and estimated damages in dollar terms up to 1,300 times more costly than those of the Capitol riot.

In most of a dozen major jurisdictions, more than 90% of charges/citations were dropped or not filed, even though the crimes included explosions, shootings, arsons, assaults and looting. In Minneapolis, rioters burned down a police station. In Seattle, terrorists blocked exits while trying to burn down a police facility with people inside. Overall, at least 20 people were killed in the urban riots. The only person actually killed in the Capitol riot was unarmed Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot to death by a Capitol Hill Police officer.

The Capitol riot cost an estimated $1.5 million in damages, whereas the leftist riots backed by Democrats (Vice President Kamala Harris actually raised bail for rioters) cost $1 billion to $2 billion. The vast majority of charges against 16,241 defendants were dismissed. Similarly, few faced sentencing after the violent left-wing riots in Washington during Mr. Trumps 2017 inauguration. Somehow, that didnt count as an insurrection. Neither was St. Johns Churchs burning near the White House in May 2020 nor the subsequent riot in which 50 Secret Service agents were injured, and Mr. Trump was moved to a secure bunker.

A year after the Jan. 6 riot, which was condemned from all quarters, more than 725 people have been arrested. About 40 are still languishing in the District of Columbia jail system, according to the office of Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert.

As of Jan. 1, some 71 defendants from Jan. 6 have been sentenced, 64 of whom were convicted of misdemeanors.

With no evidence of violence of any kind, and no criminal record, the Buffalo Hat Guy, Jacob Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, was slapped with a 41-month prison sentence after serving most of 317 days in solitary confinement for one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland gave a speech promising an endless pursuit of charges involving Jan. 6. He actually claimed this central norm in our criminal investigations: There cannot be different rules depending on ones political party or affiliation. There cannot be different rules for friends and foes. We follow the facts and enforce the law in a way that respects the Constitution and protects civil liberties.

Sure, they do. Thats why Mr. Garlands DOJ is investigating Texas for gerrymandering while ignoring Maryland, where Democrats are openly eliminating the last Republican congressional district.

The outsized reaction about the Jan. 6 insurrection smacks of political desperation on the part of a Democrat Party that will face voters in November. They are desperately trying to nationalize elections, get rid of voter ID laws and hype Jan. 6 as an attack on our democracy. Ms. Harris even compared it to Pearl Harbor and 9/11.

With massive illegal immigration, 7% inflation, an endless COVID-19 nightmare, the return of energy dependency and foreign disasters like the Afghanistan surrender, what else do they have going?

Oh, right. Their fake justice system.

Robert Knight is a columnist for The Washington Times. His website is roberthknight.com.

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Corrupt Democrats and their fake 'justice' - Washington Times

The assault on democracy didnt start when Donald Trump fired up a mob of fanatics on the National Mall last Jan. 6. High ranking Republicans have been trashing the legitimacy of elections for years, priming supporters to believe that they have to literally fight for their freedom.

At some point, the party went from hating Democrats to hating democracy, and that gave Trump all the fuel needed to light a fire.

In Maine, you can find these unfounded attacks going back a decade or more, and not just from anonymous cranks or marginal legislators. The rigged-election fantasies come straight from the top: from party leaders, a secretary of state and twice-elected Gov. Paul LePage, who wants to recapture his old office this November.

When Republicans took control of the Maine House, Maine Senate and governors office in 2011, they seemed poised to pass some of the voting restrictions used in other Republican-controlled states, which disproportionately affect minority and young voters. They installed as secretary of state Charlie Summers, who announced an investigation into widespread voter fraud, based, he claimed, on records proving that hundreds of out-of-staters were illegally voting in Maine elections.

He turned up exactly one noncitizen, who had voted a single time in Maine, nine years earlier. Those suspicious voters on his list turned out to be people who had moved to Maine and registered to vote here after voting elsewhere in a previous election.

Technically, its not a violation of the law, Summers admitted, adding, Im not sure exactly how patriotic it is when people are moving from one state to the next state and one state to the next state, like that. Summers, who himself had moved to Maine from another state, was not punished for the embarrassing report. He went on to be his partys nominee for U.S. Senate in 2012.

When Republicans lost their majorities in the House and Senate that fall, state Republican Party Chair Charlie Webster went on television to say he smelled a rat.

In some parts of rural Maine, there were dozens, dozens of Black people who came in and voted on Election Day, he fumed. Everybody has a right to vote, but nobody in (these) towns knows anyone whos Black. How did that happen? I dont know. Were going to find out.

If Webster ever did find out, he never told us, but the damage was done. It was neither the first nor the last time that a Maine Republican made clear that when they say fraudulent voting, they mean Black voting.

LePage took antidemocratic trutherism to a new level. Weeks before Election Day in 2016, Maines then-governor claimed without evidence that Im not confident of a clean election in Maine.

After the votes were counted, he sent a formal letter to legislators whod won their races, writing with no supporting evidence I maintain strong concerns regarding the integrity of Maines ballot and accuracy of Maines election results and I cannot attest to the accuracy of the tabulation certified by the Secretary of State.

He was more succinct in 2018 when Republican Bruce Poliquin lost his congressional race to Jared Golden. In the official document certifying the results, LePage scribbled stolen election.

His lack of support for democratic ideals followed him out of office. In a talk radio appearance in 2019, LePage said that we need the Electoral College, which gives a voter in Wyoming four times as much influence in a presidential race as a voter in California, to maintain white political power. Without it, white people will not have anything to say, he explained. Its only going to be the minorities who would elect.

You could write these off as mean, petty or stupid comments that dont really matter in a nation of laws. But if you wonder how so many Republicans believe that Trump won the 2020 election, or why thousands of them stormed the Capitol last year to take back what they thought was rightfully theirs, these mean, petty and stupid statements add up.

It didnt end with LePage. In the days after the 2020 election, Maine Republicans joined the Trump administration in claiming that the election had been stolen.

We will not rest until the truth about the 2020 election is revealed and we return trust to American elections, wrote state Republican Chairwoman Demi Kouzounas in an email seeking donations for a dubious Trump legal fund.

The vote had been crooked, illegal and unconstitutional, claimed Oxford County Republican Peter LaVerdiere, as he cast Trumps one Electoral College vote in the State House on Dec. 14, 2020.

On Jan. 4, two days before the insurrection, state Republican Vice Chair Nick Isgro claimed that the election had been hijacked by the Chinese Communist Party. I dont think theres any circumstance right now where (Trump) should step out of office.

Are they lying or delusional? Does it really matter?

Between their attacks on the legitimacy of elections and the meek silence of other Republicans who ought to know better, we have an authoritarian movement in this country thats not going away.

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The View From Here: From hating Democrats to hating democracy - Press Herald

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Sunday said the Democratic Party has to be radically practical if it wants to win Novembers midterm elections.

Asked by co-anchor Jake TapperJacob (Jake) Paul TapperEx-McCarthy staffer: GOP leader's strategy dictated by 'most extreme' wings of party The Hill's 12:30 Report: Capitol Hill marks dark anniversary of Jan. 6 attacks COVID-19 cases in UK exceed 100K for first time MORE on CNNs State of the Union about comments Adams made in June critiquing theparty's strategy, the New York City mayor saidDemocrats should focus on kitchen table issues that everyday individuals care about in the upcoming midterm races.

I think we can reset the message and we can put the ship on its right course. We have to be radically practical, radically practical. We need to deal with those kitchen table issues that are important to everyday Americans and New Yorkers, Adams said.

I strongly feel that we can't allow social media to dictate what happens. I say it all the time, its people on social security we need to be focusing on and they're focusing on healthcare, educating their grandchildren and children, theyre focused on affordable housing and jobs. These are the issues that we are, we must be looking at and ensuring that we are living in a safe city and a safe country, he added.

Adams made headlines in June for offering commentary on his party as his lead in the mayoral race was growing.

The then-Brooklyn borough president told reporters that he was "the face of the new Democratic Party, adding, If the Democratic Party fails to recognize what he did here in New York, then theyre going to have a problem in the midterm elections, and theyre going to have a problem in the presidential elections.

He went on to say at the time that the mayoral race results showed that America wanted to have justice, safety and end inequality, before evaluating the type of candidates constituentswere looking to support.

We dont want fancy candidates; that nails are not polished, they have calluses on their hands and theyre blue-collared people that understand a blue-collared country, Adams said. Thats what we want.

The newly minted mayor on Sunday said that if his party focuses onkitchen table issues and letsthem cascade throughout this entire country, Democrats will flock to the polls in November.

And we have that message homed in and let it cascade throughout this entire country, you're going to see those Democrats come to the polls, polling places, because they understand we're dealing with those real issues that impact them, Adams said.

On the campaign train in the Big Apple, Adamsportrayed himself as a moderate candidate who would work to tame the citys increasing violent crime. He did not, however, embrace, calls to defund the police, which have been touted by some more liberalmembers of the party.

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Adams says Democratic Party has to be 'radically practical' in midterms | TheHill - The Hill

AUSTIN (KXAN) Gov. Greg Abbott officially announced Saturday during the Hispanic Leadership Summit that he will run to keep his job as governor of Texas. Several vocal Republicans have already stepped up to challenge him, so has Democrat Beto ORourke.

Brian Smith, a professor of political science at St. Edwards University, expects Abbott and former El Paso Congressman ORourke will end up on top of their respective parties, which could make Texas the center of national political attention down the road.

If things get close, and ORourke and Abbott are close like Cruz and ORourke were (in their 2018 Senate race), thats going to get a lot of attention and a lot of outside money, Smith said. There would nothing better for the Democrats in terms of boosting their morale than saying we flipped Texas at the governor level.

Texas has not had a Democratic governor since 1994, when then-gubernatorial candidate George W. Bush outed incumbent Democratic governor Ann Richards.

Heres a look at everyone in the race for Gov. Abbotts job.

This list is the people currently certified by the Secretary of State to appear on the primary ballot, in the order they appear on the states website.

Gov. Greg Abbott

The current governor of Texas officially announced Saturday that he will run for re-election. On Monday the governor will launch his statewide media blitz where he plans to appear at 60 campaign events with an objective to raise the turnout in the GOP primary.

During his term, the governor advocated for a stronger southern border, staunchly opposed vaccine and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead pursuing testing and monoclonal antibody treatment centers, and signed into law one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

A poll published in November by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation found that despite the crowded Republican primary, Gov. Abbott is poised to win the GOP race by a significant margin. The same poll showed that Abbott and ORourke are virtually tied among voters.

Meanwhile, the University of Texas and KXANs partners at the Texas Tribune found that Abbott leads ORourke by a larger margin than that, 9 percentage points, despite only 48% of respondents saying they thought the governor was doing a good job. You can read more about that poll on the Texas Tribunes website.

Paul Belew

A lifelong criminal defense attorney from Wise County in north Texas says hes running to make Texas more Texas again. On Belews campaign website, he says he wants to see the state cut ties with the federal government and pursue revenue from other sources, including from the legalization of marijuana and from gambling at casinos.

Belew says he wants to make Texas a destination state again, which he believes has not been the case over the past couple years as a product of the pandemic. His website says Texas needs someone who can say whats on their mind.

Danny Harrison

Harrison, a north Texas landscape business owner, is running on the platform, defending Texas first. As for core issues, Harrison is running on incentives and protections for small businesses, defending Texas property rights, keeping Texas beaches open despite the pandemic and securing the southern border.

Harrisons campaign website doesnt pull punches when it comes to how Harrison thinks Gov. Abbott has led the state of Texas.

Where was Greg Abbott on January 6, 2021? He was hiding from the issues. He was not out there defending the President or democracy. He remained silent. Where was Governor Abbott when the election was stolen from back in November? Again, he was silent, his campaign website says in part.

Kandy Kaye Horn

Horn, a Houston-area woman who lists her occupation in election filings as a philanthropist, does not appear to have an official campaign website or social media pages.

According to the Baroness Kandy Kaye Horn Foundations website, which Horn is listed as chairman and founder of, she attended and graduated from Texas Christian University and received her MBA from UT in Arlington. The foundation is a Christian organization which aims to improve the world, according to that website.

Don Huffines

Arguably Abbotts most vocal contender, Huffines has made a lot of noise on social media, during interviews and even during an advertisement which aired during a Dallas Cowboys game. Smith says during this race, the governor isnt likely to bite back against Huffines, or Allen West, another vocal Republican candidate.

He goes after them it legitimizes one of those two candidates and turns it from a three-person race into a two-person race, explained Smith.

During a Sunday night Cowboys game, viewers in Texas saw an ad paid for by the Don Huffines Campaign, where Huffines himself promises a Super Bowl win for the Cowboys if hes elected Governor.

When Im your Republican Governor, Texas will stop the illegal invasion at our border. And Im not asking permission from the federal government. We will put prayer back in our schools, restore our culture, and that Cowboys would get another ring, Huffinessaid in the ad.

The Huffines ad saying the Cowboys are going to win the Super Bowl was fantastic in terms of getting a lot of attention, but neither of them have the credentials or experience in the Republican party that Greg Abbott does, Smith said.

Rick Perry

Its Rick Perry, but its probably not the Rick Perry youre thinking of. Rick Lynn Perry, a computer engineer from Springtown, drew eyebrows by throwing his name in the hat.

The Texas Republican Initiative, a political organization that formed last year in response to party infighting, took to Twitter to imply Perrys campaign is a political trick from detractors of Abbott.

The Abbott Derangement Syndrome crowd has spent many months and millions of dollars making bogus attacks against Governor@GregAbbott_TXand has gotten absolutely nowhere, the groups tweet read. Now, out of desperation, theyre resorting to gamesmanship in a pathetic attempt to confuse voters.

Chad Prather

Prather, a conservative YouTube talk show host, lists his top issues as election integrity, human trafficking, and right to life among other issues listed on Prathers official campaign website.

Prather has been outspoken about the countrys response to the COVID-19 pandemic and says on his website that we cant kill an economy over a virus with a 99% survival rate. He also addressed his lack of political experience on his website.

Do you know that I pastored three churches? Do you know that I spent over a decade in third world countries doing mission, humanitarian, and medical work? Do you know that I was an executive with a Fortune 300 company?

I could continue but I think you get the point. For a guy thats never done anything and has no experienceIve done a few things.

Allen West

West, another top Republican contender to Abbotts seat, said in his campaign announcement that even though he hasnt held a political seat for around a decade he can no longer sit on the sidelines and see what has happened in these United States of America andthe place that I call home.

Wests campaign launch came about a month after he announced his resignation as state party chairman, a position where West regularly criticized Abbotts response to the COVID-19 pandemic and his unwillingness to push the states legislative agenda further to the right.

Abbott has mostly ignored Wests attacks, though Smith says Abbott has appeared to cater more to his right flanks over the past few months.

Theyll [West and Huffines] be interesting and they might open up some avenues of attack for ORourke, but I dont see either of them being able to take it to a runoff or beating Greg Abbott head-to-head right now, Smith said.

Again, this list is the people currently certified by the Secretary of State to appear on the primary ballot, in the order they appear on the states website.

Inocencio (Inno) Barrientez

Aside from being listed as a candidate on the Texas Secretary of State website, and being named in a Texas Democratic Party candidate congratulations news release, Barrientez does not appear to have an official campaign website or official social media channels.

Michael Cooper

The Beaumont native, pastor and father of seven is running on education, climate change, and criminal justice reform, among other platforms listed on Coopers official campaign website.

In his campaign announcement, Cooper talked about helping teachers, making their profession a calling again and said education was his top priority.

Cooper, who has a masters degree in psychology, has been an automobile executive for decades, according to his website. Cooper is also the chapter president for his local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Cooper has run as a democrat in other high-level races in Texas including previous runs for the senate and for Lieutenant Governor.

Joy Diaz

In former public radio journalist Joy Diaz announcement video, she said there are three issues that would be top of mind for her campaign: the border, public education and state preparedness.

Our current leadership has forgotten that their mission is to serve us, she said in her video announcement. Yes, conventional wisdom may say that its unlikely for an average person even a qualified one, even one with expertise, even one with a huge heart to become the next governor of this great state, but Texans dont solely rely on conventional wisdom. We believe in miracles.

Diazs voice may sound familiar to many Texans since she worked for KUT in Austin and would often guest host the statewide Texas Standard radio news program. Thepublic radio station announced in Novemberthat Diaz would leave to run for public office, but at that time she did not disclose which position she would seek.

Beto ORourke

Former El Paso Congressman Beto ORourkeofficially announced his bid for governor in November. He is the only major Democrat with political experience to challenge Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott.

ORourke previously came within two percentage points of the incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018. He then jumped into the crowded Democratic presidential primary in March 2019, before suspending his campaign eight months later.

What Beto ORourke needs to do is try to reassemble some of that 2018 coalition that almost defeated Ted Cruz. So that means going after younger voters, going after people with more education, going after the big cities, Smith said. He also said ORourke will need to swing independents if he wants to beat Abbott.

Hes got to find new voters and convince people that Governor Abbott isnt right for Texas.

ORourke sat down with Nexstars Maggie Glynn for his first TV interview to discuss his bid. You can find the full transcript here.

Rich Wakeland

Aside from being listed as a candidate on the Texas Secretary of State website, and being named in a Texas Democratic Party candidate congratulations news release, Wakeland does not appear to have an official campaign website or official social media channels.

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Meet the candidates for Texas governor 2022 - KXAN.com

Former Nassau leader criticizes her own party

In November, Laura Curran, a Democrat, lost her bid to be reelected Nassau County executive. Now she is taking aim at her own party and even took a swipe at the White House.

NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y. - Former Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, a Democrat, criticized her own party in a Fox News interview over the weekend.

Curran attributed her election loss to the so-called red wave that swept many Dems out of office on Long Island. She has been highly critical of her party and its progressive policies, even going as far as comparing the Biden administration to "elder abuse."

"[Biden] has a hard time putting a sentence together," she said in an interview. "I think everyone gets nervous listening to him talk, that he's going to mess up."

Political consultant Michael Dawidziak called the ousted county exec's move a rallying cry and said she paid the price for the Democrats who drifted too far to the left on a Washington and Albany level.

"They're clearly heading into the midterm elections in crisis mode and there's no leadership at the top to make the party more successful," Dawidziak said.

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But Jay Jacobs disagrees. The Democratic chair of New York state and Nassau County said he believes the party is going to come back strong. While he wasn't surprised by Curran's tone, he called what she said inappropriate.

"I don't think the voters really voted against Laura Curran particularly in this election," he said. "I think they stayed home."

Jacobs is also hoping to convince Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi into staying where he is instead of challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul in the Democratic primary. Jacobs said Suozzi's campaign would ultimately give Republicans a chance to take a swing seat they've been vying for.

While there are more Democrats than Republicans across Long Island, experts say it is a meaningless statistic if they don't turn out to vote.

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Ousted Long Island Democrat slams her own party - FOX 5 NY