Here are this week’s SWAJ Research Links, compiled by SWAJ Team Member Mark Kurth.
National Inquiries
Speaker Johnson wrote foreword for book filled with conspiracy theories and homophobic insults
Written by Scott McKay, a local Louisiana politics blogger, the book, “The Revivalist Manifesto,” gives credence to unfounded conspiracy theories often embraced by the far-right – including the “Pizzagate” hoax, which falsely claimed top Democratic officials were involved in a pedophile ring, among other conspiracies.
Johnson’s endorsement of the book extends beyond the foreword: In 2022, he actively promoted the book on his public social media platforms and even dedicated an episode of his podcast he co-hosts with his wife to hosting McKay.
What Happened When the U.S. Failed to Prosecute an Insurrectionist Ex-President
The explanation that Davis’s lawyer Charles O’Conor liked best had to do with Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, known as the disqualification clause, which bars from federal office anyone who has ever taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” O’Conor argued that Section 3’s ban on holding office was a form of punishment and that to try Davis for treason would therefore amount to double jeopardy.
The insurrection at the Capitol cost seven lives. The Civil War cost seven hundred thousand. And yet Jefferson Davis was never held responsible for any of those deaths. His failed conviction leaves no trail. Still, it had consequences. If Davis had been tried and convicted, the cloak of Presidential impunity would be flimsier. Leniency for Davis also bolstered the cause of white supremacy.
Trump may be sued over Jan. 6 incitement claims, appeals court panel rules
The three-judge panel concluded that Trump’s actions as a candidate for president would not automatically be protected by “presidential immunity,” turning aside Trump’s sweeping argument that nearly all speech and conduct by an incumbent president should be shielded from lawsuits, including several brought by members of Congress and injured police officers.
Senator Tuberville lifts abortion-related blockade on some US military promotions
Republican U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, who has blocked hundreds of military promotions for months to protest the Pentagon's payment of abortion-related travel costs, said on Tuesday he would lift his hold on some of them.
Shortly afterward, the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, took to the Senate floor to confirm hundreds of the stalled promotions. Since there were no objections, they all went through.
Why Senate Republicans Threw an Epic Hissy Fit Yesterday
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to move forward with subpoenas for wealthy judicial influence-buyers, like Harland Crow and Leonard Leo. The vote was 11-0. That’s because, by the time the vote was called, the Republican members had all walked out of the hearing in a performative huff. The walkout came after they spent nearly two hours acting like ill-behaved chimpanzees, figuratively throwing their own feces at the committee and its chairman, Senator Dick Durbin.
Trump raises new alarms, saying he wouldn't be a 'dictator' except on 'Day One'
Donald Trump is raising new alarms about what he would do if he makes it back to the White House, even referring to himself in an interview Tuesday night as a "dictator," but only, he said, on "Day One."
At a town hall in Iowa with Fox News host Sean Hannity, the former president declined to rule out abusing power when asked repeatedly whether he would do so during a second term.
And the grand total of times candidates attacked Trump on the debate stage is…
A POLITICO analysis of the four GOP debates reveals a surprising pattern: With each debate, the candidates have been more and more inclined to go after each other instead of Trump, the far-and-away leader in the polls. The trend continued on Wednesday night, when only Chris Christie, the lowest-polling contender to make the debate stage, mounted sustained attacks on the former president.
Calls for ‘balance’ blunt the horrific human toll of rape and destruction in Israel-Hamas war
The first episode concerns Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who was forced on Tuesday to issue a long statement walking back her comments to CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday that “horrific” rapes need to be “balanced” against civilian deaths in Gaza.
The second drama stems from comments by Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus, also on CNN, about Palestinian civilian deaths that the lieutenant colonel was also forced to clarify.
The controversy over Jayapal’s remarks follows a period, predating the most recent Hamas attacks, in which some on the left have been criticized for seeming to be less inclined to condemn crimes against humanity carried out against Jews than other ethnic groups. And progressives across the Western world, many of whom are supportive of Palestinians, have sometimes been less strident than they might have been in trying to eradicate antisemitism.
Trump targets a bigger, cheaper and more popular Obamacare
The Obamacare that Donald Trump pledges to scrap in 2025 is not the same law that the GOP targeted during his first year in office — making it politically uncomfortable for the former president’s fellow Republicans to embrace a wholesale repeal.
More than 40 million people have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, up 50 percent from 2017. New subsidies enacted under the Biden administration have lowered premium costs, boosting the private exchanges. And, since Republicans last attempted to repeal the law, nine red and purple states have opted to expand Medicaid — many by popular vote — taking advantage of the enhanced federal funding Obamacare offers and extending coverage to millions of low-income people.
House Declares Anti-Zionism Is Antisemitism, Dividing Democrats
The resolution denouncing antisemitism, drafted by Republicans, passed by a vote of 311 to 14, drawing the support of all but one Republican. Ninety-two Democrats voted “present” — not taking a position for or against the measure — while 95 supported it.
That reflected deep and growing divisions among Democrats between those who have offered unequivocal support for the Jewish state and its actions, and others — especially in the party’s progressive wing — who have been critical of Israel’s policies and its conduct in the war with Hamas.
Why a Second Trump Presidency May Be More Radical Than His First
As he runs for president again facing four criminal prosecutions, Mr. Trump may seem more angry, desperate and dangerous to American-style democracy than in his first term. But the throughline that emerges is far more long-running: He has glorified political violence and spoken admiringly of autocrats for decades.
Trump's attack on Obamacare may not be a 2024 winner, poll suggests
Most voters trust Democrats over Republicans to handle the future of the Affordable Care Act. And most Republican voters don’t see the ACA as an important issue, according to the survey by the nonpartisan health research organization KFF.
Only about one-third of the public knows that one of Biden’s signature acheivements – the Inflation Reduction Act – requires Medicare to negotiate prices for some prescription drugs. Even fewer are aware that monthly insulin costs for Medicare enrollees have been capped at $35 and total out-of-pockets costs for drugs have been limited, the survey found.
Mike Johnson to accept award from group that calls LGBTQ+ people satanic groomers
Since becoming House Speaker, Mike Johnson (R-LA) has tried to downplay his extreme anti-LGBTQ+ beliefs. But next week he will deliver the keynote speech at a gala for the National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL). There, he will receive the NACL American Patriot Award for Christian Honor and Courage — proof that he remains just as anti-LGBTQ+ as ever.
Swing-state Muslim leaders launch campaign to ‘abandon’ Biden in 2024
The bubbling anger among Arab and Muslim Americans could threaten Biden’s chances of reelection in many of the swing states in 2024, all of which contain key pockets of Arab American and Muslim American voting blocs.
“We are not powerless as American Muslims. We are powerful. We don’t only have the money, but we have the actual votes. And we will use that vote to save this nation from itself,” said Jaylani Hussein, a member of the coalition. He’s also the executive director of CAIR-MINNESOTA, though the organization is not involved in the #AbandonBiden campaign.
U.S. officials push for increased aid in Gaza as Israeli offensive continues
“Look, we certainly share the concerns ... about the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Kirby said. “Name me one other nation, any nation, that’s doing as much as the United States to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people of Gaza? You can’t. You just can’t. The United States, through President Biden, is leading the effort to get trucks, food, water, medicine and fuel in to the people of Gaza. ... And name another nation that is doing more to urge the Israeli counterparts, our Israeli counterparts, to be as cautious and deliberate as they can be in the prosecution of the military operations. You can’t.”
At times, the United States and Israel appear to be operating in two different realities. The Biden administration has repeatedly said it envisions a future, postwar Gaza under the administration of the Palestinian Authority that now rules the West Bank.
Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago
Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out.
The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people.
Should Biden Really Run Again? He Prolongs an Awkward Conversation.
So it went this week when Mr. Biden told donors on Tuesday night near Boston that “I’m not sure I’d be running” if former President Donald J. Trump were not trying to reclaim the Oval Office.
It was a forehead-slapping moment for a president whose drooping approval ratings have forced him to turn his re-election campaign into a referendum on his predecessor, and a reminder that the political forecast for the next 11 months suggests America will be inundated with two candidates most of the country doesn’t want.
'Events in the Middle East' led man to fire shots near synagogue
Mufid Fawaz Alkhader, a U.S. citizen who was born in Iraq, allegedly also told members of a Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco & Explosives task force that “events in the Middle East have impacted him,” according to a criminal complaint filed by an Albany detective who is a member of the ATF task force.
Alkhader, a resident of Schenectady, shouted “Free Palestine” during the incident, according to city police and a person briefed on the matter. It’s unclear whether he said that while being arrested or when he fired the weapon — or both.
Harvard, Penn and MIT presidents under fire over ‘despicable’ testimony on antisemitism and genocide
The criticism focused on the university leaders’ answers to questions on Tuesday about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates their respective school’s code of conduct on bullying or harassment.
None of the school leaders explicitly said that calling for the genocide of Jews would necessarily violate their code of conduct. Instead, they explained it would depend on the circumstances and conduct.
States Fights
Sarah Huckabee Sanders Appoints Homophobe to Arkansas Library Board
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s latest appointee to the State Library Board is a far-right activist who has claimed “activist teachers … are pushing homosexual pornography on minor children” and wants to defund public libraries that are challenging state censorship.
Jason Rapert is a former state senator who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor last year. Like Sanders, he’s a Republican.
She appointed him to the library board November 20, the Arkansas Times reports. She also appointed another conservative, Shari Bales, with both Bales and Rapert succeeding board members whose terms have ended. But it’s Rapert who has been the most outspoken and drawn the most attention.
Adding to the story about the Arkansas Governor’s appointment of Jason Rapert - he is being connected to the NAR 😳