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Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiThe Memo: Trump pours gas on tribalism with Jan. 6 rewrite Former NFL player challenging Boozman in Arkansas GOP primary Pelosi offers support for Cuban protests MORE (D-Calif.), the leader of House Democrats, recently named Rep. Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyThe Memo: Trump pours gas on tribalism with Jan. 6 rewrite Juan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts McCarthy, GOP face a delicate dance on Jan. 6 committee MORE (R-Wyo.), formerly the third-ranking Republican in the House, to a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

It was an extraordinary step to build bipartisan trust for an investigation into the most serious attempt to overthrow the U.S. government since the Civil War.

Forget it, Speaker Pelosi.

It is not going to make a difference. Republicans now define loyalty by one measure the willingness to jump headfirst into former President TrumpDonald TrumpOvernight Defense: Top US commander in Afghanistan departs | US sends delegation to Haiti after request for troops | Senate Dems propose .3B for Pentagon in Capitol security bill Fauci and Birx warned Scott Atlas was 'dangerous' Report: RNC chief counsel called 2020 Trump legal efforts 'a joke' MOREs delusional claims of massive voter fraud to explain why he lost the 2020 election.

Pelosi felt the need for bipartisanship because House Republicans initially looked inclined to boycott the probe by not naming any Republicans to the committee. In the Senate, Republicans blocked an independent investigation.

Cheney is a hard-line conservative. Her Republican credentials are unassailable. But she voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the attack on the government.

So, while Pelosi picked Cheney as an honest broker, some Republicans scorn Cheney as disloyal to Trump.

The dark reality is that no matter how fair the final report of the select committee, it will be ignored by most Republicans.

Similarly, it wont matter to many Republicans in Congress if federal and state investigations in New York find Trumps company guilty of engaging in a criminal enterprise full of tax fraud.

Republicans in Congress are even willing to close their eyes to a disease taking the lives of their constituents.

They refuse to rebut mindless, conspiracy talk about vaccines even as Republican-majority states that voted for Trump are disproportionately hit by a new variant of the virus.

To be a Republican in good standing these days requires buying into conspiracies, expressing racist grievances and repeating the Big Lie.

A Monmouth University poll released last month found that 63 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning voters say Trump lost the election because of fraud.

Last week, Pelosi called out House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin McCarthyCNN: Tucker Carlson 'furious' at Fox News execs for not defending his NSA spying claims The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Goldman Sachs - Democrats lean into midterm strategy as Senate returns to work Juan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts MORE (R-Calif.) for allowing his party to reach such a low:

McCarthy looks the other way and welcomes Members who spread dangerous conspiracy theories and consort with insurrections, far right extremists and white supremacists, a statement from Pelosis press office said, but he punishes and threatens those in his Conference who dare to stand up for our democracy.

Pelosi is not the only one calling out top Republicans for their failure to lead.

Republican leaders have played footsie with dark forces on the far right, The Washington Post wrote in an editorial last week, under the mistaken impression that they could benefit from the enthusiasm of racists, conspiracy theorists and other extremists while maintaining control of the party. ... Those forces have instead reshaped the party not just on matters of policy ... but also on the most basic question of whether Americans can trust their democratic institutions.

William BarrBill BarrJuan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts Trump says being impeached twice didn't change him: 'I became worse' Trump-allied GOP chairs turn on fellow Republicans MORE, Trumps own attorney general, is also calling out Republicans in Congress.

The conspiracy theory about election fraud from Trump is bullshit, Barr said.

If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it, Barr told journalist Jonathan Karl in an interview for the forthcoming book Betrayal. It was all bullshit.

Barr noted that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellThis week: Congress starts summer sprint Brewing battle over tax hikes to test Democratic unity Juan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts MORE (R-Ky.) asked him to say Biden won. McConnell refused to say it for fear of losing Trumps political support in Senate elections in Georgia.

But B.S. is now required from Republicans running for Congress.

A third of the nearly 700 Republicans who have filed initial paperwork ... to run next year for the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives are embracing Trumps Big Lie, Amy Gardner reported in The Washington Post last week.

Gardner noted that 136 of the Republicans running for seats in the next Congress are sitting members of Congress who voted against certifying President BidenJoe BidenPoll: Biden approval on coronavirus slips 2 percentage points Overnight Defense: Top US commander in Afghanistan departs | US sends delegation to Haiti after request for troops | Senate Dems propose .3B for Pentagon in Capitol security bill Protests escalate US-Cuba tensions MOREs electoral college victory on Jan. 6.

The terrible consequence of this downward spiral was evident last week when The New York Times reported on social media postings suggesting that Rep. Paul GosarPaul Anthony GosarJuan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts Sears, Kmart pull shirt calling Ashli Babbitt an 'American Patriot' Five big questions about the Jan. 6 select committee MORE (R-Ariz.), a leader of the Stop the Steal movement, was set to appear at a fundraiser with a white supremacist leader, Nick Fuentes.

(McCarthy, the GOP House leader, told The Washington Post that Gosar had told him the ad for the fundraiser was not real.)

Gosar in a recent fund-raising solicitation spread the conspiracy theory that the F.B.I. may have been behind the Jan. 6 attack, Catie Edmondson reported for the Times.

Meanwhile, Sen. James LankfordJames Paul LankfordJuan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts Trump-allied GOP chairs turn on fellow Republicans The Hill's Morning Report - Biden renews pleas as US COVID-19 vax rate slows MORE (R-Okla.), who did not challenge the certification of Bidens win, is facing a primary opponent who attacks him for not being loyal to Trump. The challenge is being supported by the state Republican party chairman.

Its more unheard of than it is rare for an incumbent senator to see his primary opponent endorsed by the state chairman of his party, Lankford told the Tulsa World.

But American politics is in the unheard-of zone.

Eighteen more months of chaos and the inability to get stuff done thats what we want, Rep. Chip RoyCharles (Chip) Eugene RoyJuan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts The Hill's Morning Report - Biden renews families plan pitch; Senate prepares to bring infrastructure package to floor House Republican says colleagues' 'job' is to slow Democratic priorities MORE (R-Texas) recently told a conservative crowd, proudly advertising a strategy to stop government from working.

Thankfully, most voters live outside the Trump-right-wing-media election conspiracy echo chamber.

But what's next? Blood has already been spilled this year on the grounds of the Capitol.

Leaders, left and right, need to join Pelosi now in facing down Trumps lies before the delusions spark more violence and more voter suppression in the 2022 midterms.

Juan Williams is an author, and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.

The rest is here:
Juan Williams: Republicans prefer Trump's fantasies over truth and facts | TheHill - The Hill

More than six in 10 New Jersey voters Republicans, Democrats and independents alike favor removing the Republican tax laws $10,000 limit on deducting state and local taxes, according to a poll released Monday.

In the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll, registered voters favored removing the deduction cap by 63% to 24%. That included 64% of Republicans, 63% of Democrats and 60% of independents.

It would make sense for this to be a partisan issue, as its tied to Trump and to Democratic members of Congress, said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and executive director of the poll. But if theres one thing that can transcend partisanship, its cold, hard cash.

The cap disproportionately affected high tax states such as New Jersey, whose residents pay the highest property taxes. The deduction cap affects state taxes plus property taxes. The unpopularity of the tax law, which according to the Congressional Research Service had little or no impact on economic growth or workers pay, helped Democrats picked up four GOP-held House seats in New Jersey in 2018.

More than one-third of New Jersey voters, 35%, said their taxes went up because of the deduction cap, including 36% of Republicans, 34% of Democrats and 35% of independents. Another 28% said they received a tax cut and 30% said they didnt know the impact of the law on their federal taxes.

Before the 2017 tax law, more than 40% of New Jerseyans took the deduction, behind only Maryland and Connecticut, according to the Tax Foundation, a research group whose board includes two former House Republicans.

Should the deduction cap be repealed, the progressive Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said 1.9 million New Jerseyans would be helped, 80% of them making $216,000 or less on average. But 72% of the benefits would go to the richest 5%, the study said.

The GOP tax law could be an issue again in 2022 as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California is coming to Warren on Wednesday to raise money for Tom Kean Jr., the state Senate minority leader who again is challenging Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist. for re-election.

McCarthy led the effort to pass the bill, tried to make the deduction limit permanent, and then voted against efforts to repeal the cap.

A bipartisan caucus of lawmakers from New Jersey and elsewhere have pushed to remove the cap over the objection of McCarthy and other congressional Republican leaders. A draft resolutlon by Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., allowing the Senate to pass a $6 trillion spending bill by a simple majority included $120 billion to help restore the tax break.

The survey of 803 registered voters was conducted partially by telephone and partially online from June 9-16 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percentage points.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at @JDSalant.

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Republicans and Democrats in N.J. agree on this. Give back our property tax breaks. - NJ.com

Both the Republican National Committee and the Senate Republican campaign arm will be airing attack ads Monday and Tuesday, during Major League Baseball's All-Star activities.

The ads blame Democrats for the economic costs for Georgia stemming from by the MLB's decision to move the All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver, after an changes to Georgia's election laws

The Cobb County Travel and Tourism Bureau estimated in April that the move cost Atlanta $100 million in lost revenue, and would have been "a big boost" to local businesses after the COVID-19 pandemic. Colorado Governor Jared Polis and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, both Democrats, estimated Denver would see $100 million in revenue from hosting the MLB All-Star game.

"This was supposed to be Atlanta's night, but we were robbed. Democrats stole our All-Star game to push their divisive political agenda," Reverend and former Republican Georgia State Representative Melvin Everson says in the RNC ad. The RNC's seven-figure buy will run nationwide during the All-Star Game on Tuesday.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee will air an ad in Georgia during the Home Run Derby on Monday and the All-Star game on Tuesday. Its ad targets Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who after winning a special runoff in January, will be up for reelection in 2022. The committee ran an ad in April, too, tying Warnock to the relocation of the game and lost revenue for the state.

"The MLB All-Star Game will be bittersweet for baseball fans in Georgia as they watch a game played in a packed stadium in Denver instead of Atlanta, where it should be. Sadly, it was their very own Senator who helped run the All-Star Game and $100 million out of Atlanta," said NRSC Chairman and Florida Senator Rick Scott in a statement.

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the decision to move the All-Star game in April, after discussions with individual players and the Players Alliance, an organization of Black players formed after the death of George Floyd last year.

"Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred wrote in a statement.

President Biden told ESPN in March he'd "strongly support" moving the game out of Georgia.

The changes to Georgia's election laws included new ID requirements for absentee voting, expanded early voting opportunities, strict rules on drop boxes and new powers for the state election board. In late-March, Georgia-based corporations Coca-Cola and Delta, as well as CBS News' parent company ViacomCBS, voiced their opposition to the measure.

"As the pastor of Ebenezer Church, I've seen these corporations falling over themselves every year around the time of the King holiday, celebrating Dr. King. I think that the way to celebrate Dr. King is to stand up for what he represented: voting rights," Senator Warnock told CNN in March.

Warnock said in a press release after the move was announced that it was his "hope that businesses, athletes, and entertainers can protest this law not by leaving Georgia but by coming here and fighting voter suppression head on, and hand-in-hand with the community."

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, was unhappy about the move and told CBS This Morning in April while she respected the decision, "I don't like the fact that we have been put in this position by our state legislature and our governor because the people of Georgia will suffer."

"I'm absolutely concerned that this will backfire," Bottoms added.

The last time Denver hosted the MLB All-Star Game was in 1998. Hancock and Polis told CBS Denver during their conversations with the MLB that everything but politics was discussed.

"They never asked about elections. They wanted to avoid politics as best as they could," Hancock told CBS Denver.

Original post:
Republicans to air attack ads over relocation of MLB All-Star game from Georgia - CBS News

Republicans are zeroing in on Loudoun County, Virginia, ahead of the states competitive gubernatorial race as the affluent, Democratic-leaning area finds itself at the center of Americas culture wars.

School board meetings in the county, an exurb of Washington, D.C., have garnered national media attention amid the contentious and at times raucous debates over critical race theory and transgender issues in the classroom.

Republicans say these concerns will potentially help turn blue areas like Loudoun red in what could be a test case for the power of hot-button cultural issues ahead of next year's midterms. They point to the controversy over critical race theory in particular as an example of something that could sway parents decisions at the ballot box.

Geary Higgins, the chair of the 10th Congressional District Republican Committee, which includes Loudoun County, said organizers have gathered 12,000 out of 17,000 signatures needed in the county to recall six school board members over the issue.

I wish we had 12,000 Republican activists in Loudoun County, we would change things real quick. But these are parents that are concerned about whats going on, Higgins told The Hill.

Critical race theory was developed in the 1970s and 1980s by a number of American legal scholars who argued racism is rooted in the nations founding and that systemic racism continues to have a negative impact on the opportunities and treatment of people of color at all levels of society today.

Opponents of the theory say it teaches American students to disparage the U.S. and sows division in classrooms. Its opponents also argue that their movement is not only about the theory itself, but about parental oversight of schools.

I get emails from people across the country asking how they can stand up to their school board, how they can replicate what were doing here, and its really been nonstop, said Ian Prior, the executive director of Fight For Schools, the conservative group that is leading the effort to recall the school board members.

I think that it is absolutely going to be an issue as it relates to campaigns and elections, he said.

Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin has spoken frequently about critical race theory, and has tied Democratic nominee and former Gov. Terry McAuliffe to it.

"We've actually seen the McAuliffe-Northam administration try to teach our children what to think, and we know that our schools are supposed to teach our kids how to think," Youngkintold Fox Businesslast week.

A spokesperson for Youngkins campaign told The Hill that the opposition to critical race theory has not only been seen in Loudoun County, but throughout Virginia.

The open question is does critical race theory gain traction beyond the Fox News viewership? Beyond the people who are already on the Republican side, said veteran Virginia political commentator Bob Holsworth.

Polling shows the issue resonates with voters along party lines. A Morning Consult survey released last month found that 42 percent of Republicans said they had a very unfavorable view of critical race theory, while 25 percent of independents and5 percent of Democrats said the same. A total of 23 percent of voters in the same poll said they agreed.

But Republicans point to anEconomist/YouGov pollreleased last month that found 58 percent of voters said they have an unfavorable view of the theory, while 38 percent said they had an unfavorable view.

Its a winning issue for us, said one GOP operative working in Virginia politics. This has fully taken up the oxygen, and like I said, its a winning issue for us with independents and even among Democrats to a certain extent.

Democrats have dismissed it as a distraction from other policy debates, arguing that the outrage is not from the parents themselves, but rather from conservative activists.

That's another right-wing conspiracy," McAuliffe said last month. "This is totally made up by Donald Trump and Glenn Youngkin. This is who they are. It's a conspiracy theory."

Democrats also point to the nationwide GOP strategy of talking about cultural issues, like critical race theory, to energize the conservative base. Trump has repeatedly brought up the issue in his first few campaign appearances since taking office.

This is pretty clearly a culture war issue that I think a lot of folks see very clearly as a Republican attempt to rile people up, said one Virginia-based Democratic operative.

Democrats instead have touted McAuliffes own education plan, in which he pledges to invest $2 billion in Virginia public education and raise teachers salaries.

Youngkin released his academic excellence plan earlier this month, in part focusing on improving school measurement metrics, improving student academic achievement and preventing prolonged school closures.

Loudoun County itself has been subject to political and media attention partly due to its place within the Washington, D.C., media market, as well as it being one of the exurbs Virginia suburban voters largely abandoned Republicans in during the Trump years.

Suburban voters could end up playing a consequential role in the Virginia elections, as well as the 2022 elections, after they went largely for President BidenJoe BidenPoll: Biden approval on coronavirus slips 2 percentage points Overnight Defense: Top US commander in Afghanistan departs | US sends delegation to Haiti after request for troops | Senate Dems propose .3B for Pentagon in Capitol security bill Protests escalate US-Cuba tensions MORE in 2020.

With critical race theory and other cultural hot-button issues, the Republicans think they have something now that can flip those suburban voters who largely abandoned the Republican Party in Virginia during the Trump era, said Mark Rozell, dean and Ruth D. and John T. Hazel chair in public policy at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.

However, analysts warn Republicans risk alienating suburban voters if they make critical race theory central to their education message.

I think if the argument comes down to critical race theory versus paying teachers, paying teachers wins, Holsworth said.

Loudoun went for former President George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 before former President Obama won the county by8 points in 2008 and by4 points in 2012.

Former President TrumpDonald TrumpOvernight Defense: Top US commander in Afghanistan departs | US sends delegation to Haiti after request for troops | Senate Dems propose .3B for Pentagon in Capitol security bill Fauci and Birx warned Scott Atlas was 'dangerous' Report: RNC chief counsel called 2020 Trump legal efforts 'a joke' MORE appeared to accelerate Loudouns Democratic tilt, losing the county by 17 points in 2016 and again by 25 points in 2020.

Democrats, who frequently tie Youngkin to Trump, say the former presidents double-digit loss in thecounty is evidence that the notion Loudoun County could flip is being overplayed.

Republicans acknowledge that flipping the county back to red will likely be an issue of turnout, but insist that a decent performance in the area could help them statewide.

I think that if there was an issue or a year where that would change a little bit more in favor of Youngkin and Republicans, it would be this year and it would be because of this issue, the Virginia-based Republican operative said.

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Virginia county to test power of GOP culture wars at ballot box | TheHill - The Hill

Do National Guard members report to their governor, or the president? Both, actually. State National Guard members have two commanders: their governors and, above that, the U.S. president.

So whos paying for this? Normally, when Washington requests National Guard members at the border, Washington pays. Otherwise, state taxpayers are on the line for funding their National Guard and law enforcement like highway patrol. Texas has offered to reimburse at least some states who send law enforcement through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a preexisting resource-sharing agreement between states. But also, in a bizarre and unprecedented turn of events, a billionaire Republican megadonor from Tennessee has paid for some of the deployment. Willis Johnson, through the Willis and Reba Johnsons Foundation, donated $1 million directly to the state of South Dakota to fund National Guard troops on the border.

Is that even allowed? A state lawmaker says its legal, but security experts have called the moved unethical and dangerous. You certainly dont want our national security priorities up to the highest bidder, Mandy Smithberger of the Project on Government Oversight told the Washington Post.

OK. But why is this all happening in the first place? Governors Abott and Doucey might genuinely feel that their states are in crisis. But yes, there are politics: The Republican Partys midterm strategy is clearly going to be hammering Biden on his, in their words, open-border policies. Positioning truckloads of cops and National Guard on the border certainly helps create the appearance of crisis.

So, is there a crisis, or not? Immigration advocates like to say that crisis is a political termpartisans use it when its useful. Right now, we are seeing a higher number than weve seen in the last 20 years of CBP apprehensionsi.e., people who CBP officers have come across on the border and detained. And people are crossing in higher numbers on parts of the border unused to heavy traffic, too. Specifically, Texass Rio Grande Valley has become a much more popular location to cross the border than it has been before. This puts a lot of strain on unprepared local resources.

A stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on July 5, 2021. | David Peinado/NurPhoto via AP

Why are more people crossing the border? It might sound confusing, but actually theyre not. Even though apprehensions are way up, the actual number of unique individuals crossing the border is believed to be much lower. Not everyone who crosses the border gets caught or apprehended, but many of the people who attempt to cross the border try and get caught multiple times (CBP calls this recidivism). And experts suggest we may be seeing the highest-ever recidivism rate this year.

Why are there so many repeat crossers right now? The simple answer is Title 42. Thats an obscure public-health measure that the Trump administration used to shut the border to asylum-seekers when the Covid pandemic started. Biden has kept Title 42 mostly in place. Before that, people seeking asylum in the U.S. were generally permitted to remain in the country (often in detention) as they awaited the outcome of their asylum case in court. But under Title 42, all of them have been apprehended and either returned to Mexico or summarily expelled to their home country without any legal proceedings. Thousands of the people returned to Mexico have decided simply to try to cross again.

So the border isnt open? Like Trump, Biden has kept the door almost entirely closed on asylum, with only a sliver of people making it in.

Whats all the ruckus from Republicans about then? While recidivism accounts for a significant portion of the high number of apprehensions, even when you account for repeat crossings, there are many more people trying to cross the border at this moment than any time in the past decade besides 2019. So it is an increase, just not an unprecedented oneespecially when compared to the far greater numbers of annual apprehensions made in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Why are more people coming to cross the border? Is that because of Biden? Biden took office with a more welcoming rhetoric towards migrants, and that may very well have encouraged some people to attempt to cross the border. But the current uptick in the number of people arriving actually began months before Biden became president, and there are, of course, many factors: Multiple hurricanes ravaged Central America in November; the Covid pandemic has intensified poverty and gangs efforts at extortion; cartel violence in Mexico is at record-high levels; and political crisis in Haiti has erupted in street violence, to name a few of the root causes.

How will this all end? Eventually, the National Guard members will be sent home. Its unclear when exactly that will be. Some that Trump deployed in 2020 are still at the border. The Guard sent by the federal government will likely be recalled as soon as the number of people crossing goes down. Increases in migration tend to be seasonal, and as we get to the hottest months of summer, it will likely decrease. Also, Biden is expected to phase out Title 42 over the coming weeks and months, which will allow for many waiting at the border to enter the country lawfully. As for the additional state officers sent to the border, the decision for when they will go home will be made by the Republican governors who sent them.

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Why Are Republican Governors Sending National Guard to the Border? - POLITICO