Mediaboss Marketing

Democrats are taking Republicans to task this week following a racist mass shooting in western New York, accusing GOP lawmakers of fomenting violence by embracing the same white nationalist views as the alleged gunman.

Lawmakers in both parties have been horrified by the massacre in Buffalo, where a lone gunman shot 13 people 10 of them fatally at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood on Saturday afternoon. The suspect, an 18-year-old from Conklin, N.Y., a small rural town 200 miles east, had reportedly posted a long, online screed voicing fears that Americas white population is being overrun by growing numbers of minorities.

That conspiracy, known as replacement theory, has a long history at the fringes of American politics, reverberating for decades within the underground worlds of white nationalism and white supremacy. But it gained a recent mainstream foothold under former President Trump, whose Make America Great Again campaign launched with a blanket attack on Mexican immigrants, won legions of followers across the country and remains the single most animating force in the GOP even more than a year after Trumps departure from public office.

In the wake of Saturdays massacre in Buffalo, MAGA-loyal Republicans and their allies are now under sharp scrutiny for past comments suggesting, to various degrees, that Democrats and other elites have sought to empower minorities largely through immigration policy at the expense of white people.

Some of those conservative commentators have embraced replacement theory by name; others have avoided the term, but warn of an immigrant insurrection designed to keep Democrats perpetually in power. In either case, the critics say such rhetoric contributes directly to acts of nationalist violence, including Saturdays massacre in Buffalo.

What truly needs to be replaced in this country is ignorance and hate, which is driving division, perpetuating lies, and killing our neighbors, Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), said in a statement.

Higgins is hardly alone. And among the loudest voices denouncing the GOPs flirtation with fringe nationalism are a pair of Capitol Hill Republicans Reps. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) who accused their own leadership of doing far too little to combat the bigotry in their own ranks.

The House GOP leadership has enabled white nationalism, white supremacy, and anti-semitism. History has taught us that what begins with words ends in far worse, Cheney wrote on Twitter. @GOP leaders must renounce and reject these views and those who hold them.

The debate over replacement theory has been thrust into the national spotlight following a string of violent episodes in recent years. The list includes the 2017 marches in Charlottesville, Va., where white supremacists yelled that Jews will not replace us; the 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, where Jews were targeted for supporting immigrants; and the 2019 massacre at a Walmart in Texas, where the shooter said he feared a Hispanic invasion.

The suspect in Saturdays shooting in Buffalo, Payton Gendron, had aired similar grievances, writing online that the Black shoppers he targeted were a threat to my own people a threat he equated to genocide.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) lamented that such views have become more mainstream in recent years, blaming some MAGA Republicans and cable news pundits for lending the theory a purported legitimacy.

The message is not always explicit, but weve all seen the pattern, he said Monday on the chamber floor.

In Trumps absence from Washington, other prominent conservatives have stepped up their fight against what they perceive as a threat to Americas national identity.

Tucker Carlson, the popular Fox News host, has led that charge, saying on his show last year that demographic change is the key to the Democratic Partys political ambitions. He then accused Democrats of trying to replace the current electorate with more obedient voters from the third world.

I have less political power because they are importing a brand new electorate, he said. Why should I sit back and take that?

Appearing on Carlsons show in March, GOP Ohio Senate nominee J.D. Vance said that Democrats have decided that they cant win reelection in 2022 unless they bring in a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here.

And Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), a close Trump ally, has issued similar warnings about immigrants.

For many Americans, what seems to be happening or what they believe right now is happening is what appears to them is were replacing national-born Americans, native-born Americans to permanently transform the landscape of this very nation, Perry said in a committee hearing last year.

Among the lawmakers under the brightest spotlight since Saturdays shooting is Rep. Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), a member of GOP leadership.

Stefanik was accused in a hometown paper editorial of subtly parroting tenets of replacement theory with Facebook ads in September 2021 that said Democrats were plotting a PERMANENT ELECTION INSURRECTION with the plan to give amnesty to undocumented immigrations for electoral purposes. Kinzinger resurfaced those posts in the wake of the shooting on Saturday, asserting that Stefanik pushes white replacement theory.

Those figures vigorously deny that their rhetoric is inherently racist or promotes the same kinds of worldviews as the Buffalo shooter, saying there exists a clear distinction between opposing legal rights for undocumented immigrants and elevating hatred toward minorities.

Carlson said on his show that critics were trying to make a racial issue out of it, but that it is a voting right question.

Stefanik adviser Alex deGrasse said in a statement that she is credited with diversifying the GOP and supports legal immigration, but opposes amnesty.

Any implication or attempt to blame the heinous shooting in Buffalo on the Congresswoman is a new disgusting low for the Left, their Never Trump allies, and the sycophant stenographers in the media, deGrasse said. Despite sickening and false reporting, Congresswoman Stefanik has never advocated for any racist position or made a racist statement.

Stefaniks team also pointed to New York City approving a measure to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections, falsely saying that it would allow illegal immigrants to vote when the measure would apply to legal permanent residents and so-called Dreamers who were brought to the U.S. as children but legally allowed to remain under the DACA program.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) brushed off criticism from Cheney and others about replacement theory, telling reporters Monday that the GOP has have never supported white supremacy.

Same thing Cheney always does, just trying to play a political game when she knows somethings not true, McCarthy said.

GOP defenders also cite older research and news articles asserting that immigration is likely to lead to electoral gains for Democrats.

A 2013 article on a failed Gang of Eight immigration proposal said that its amnesty provisions would create an electoral bonanza for Democrats. The same year, the liberal Center for American Progress said that supporting real immigration reform that contains a pathway to citizenship for our nations 11 million undocumented immigrants is the only way to maintain electoral strength in the future.

Those arguments, from Stefanik and others, have done nothing to satisfy their critics, some of whom are calling them out by name.

Great Replacement Theory is a vile, racist and false conspiracy theory that the Buffalo murderer relied upon. GOP Rep Elise Stefanik ran ads promoting it, tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.)

Rep @EliseStefanik has now issued a statement and nowhere does she say I condemn replacement theory. Why?

Mychael Schnell contributed.

Updated 7:50 p.m.

More here:
Democrats hit GOP over replacement theory - The Hill

Registration opens for 2022-23 school year K-12 classes/programs at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate

BOSTON, May 18, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Civics, social studies, history, and other U.S. classroom teachers looking for a unique, memorable experience in civic education for their K-12 students are invited to explore the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senates "Senator for a Day" interactive education programs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220518005886/en/

Registration is now open for the 2022-23 school year for K-12 in-person and online classes and programs at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston. For the first time, Kennedy Institute offerings will be available at no charge for public-school students from all 50 U.S. states, and during Tuesday-Friday morning time slots in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. (Photo: Business Wire)

Registration for the 2022-23 school year is opening today to teachers and schools nationwide for both in-person visits at the Institutes beautiful, one-of-a-kind, full-scale replica of the U.S. Senate chamber and as online classes. Participation is now free of charge for public-school students from all 50 states.

Educational experiences at the Kennedy Institute use immersive role-play and simulation to teach civics and inspire our countrys next generation of leaders. Led by highly trained, nonpartisan instructors from the Kennedy Institute, students of all ages take on the role of a U.S. senator from a state of their choosing and help debate, shape, and vote on key legislation. Groups can choose from topics including immigration reform, voting rights, environmental justice, the Green New Deal, or updating the Electoral College. A two-minute video showing Kennedy Institute virtual education programs can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVr99Jq4toA .

Story continues

Since it opened in 2015, the Kennedy Institute has welcomed more than 100,000 students for in-person and online civic education programs and classes.

In the coming year, the Kennedy Institute is particularly focused on welcoming more students and teachers from the 44 states outside New England for online programming. Besides eliminating for this year all fees formerly charged for non-Massachusetts public-school students, Kennedy Institute staff will make every possible effort to accommodate time-zone differences when scheduling virtual sessions of 60 to 120 minutes in length.

"Over and over, we see how young people are engaged and inspired by taking on the role of U.S. senators and learning about the research, deliberation, and decision-making that go into producing legislation, said Sarah Yezzi, Kennedy Institute Director of Education, Family and Youth Programming.

Additionally, for students in kindergarten through 3rd grade, the Kennedy Institute offers the "Welcoming Words" program in which young learners hear about the history of the Statue of Liberty and the welcome that she offers to diverse new neighbors. As part of this program students create their own special welcoming art and collages.

Examples of feedback from teachers whove participated in online and in-person programs recently includes:

"Our recent visit to the EMK Institute was a huge success for both our 8th grade students and faculty. The staff was knowledgeable, friendly, and encouraging of our students. Their presentations were energetic, engaging, and completely unbiased."

"Being Senators for the day at the EMK is always the highlight of our study of the Constitution and learning about how our country functions. My 10th graders love the experience of sitting in the Senate chamber and debating bills!"

"My students [high school] were engaged and willing to challenge each other in conversation that would have been unlikely in a different setting. The presenters were experts in their content and at engaging students.

"The EMK Institute offers excellent programming for all ages. Their programming is well thought-out, engaging, and well-paced. They really know what they're doing!"

A full list of available 2022-23 programs and details on how to register is at https://www.emkinstitute.org/resources/visit-request-form Fees may apply for some private and non-Massachusetts schools, with significant tuition scholarships available.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220518005886/en/

Contacts

Media: Sarah Yezzi, Director of Education, Family and Youth Programming at the Kennedy Institute, press@emkinstitute.org

Continued here:
Civic Education: Learning by Legislating at the Kennedy Institute - Yahoo Finance

Last summer, anti-immigration advocates mobilized in opposition to the resettlement of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees in the United States. It threatens the national security of the United States, wrote Stephen Miller, the former top Donald Trump adviser. Miller charged in another tweet that President Joe Biden had cruelly betrayed his oath of office by expediting the entry of Afghans fleeing the Taliban without, Miller said, proper vetting. A prominent immigration-restrictionist group issued a report warning of fraud and abuse in the nations refugee programs, and immigration hard-liners flooded conservative airwaves throughout the fall to denounce the administrations plans.

Then came another refugee crisis, this time in Ukraine. In March, Biden said the U.S. would admit up to 100,000 of the millions of Ukrainians who had left their country after the Russian invasion. The announcement was sure to provoke the outrage of the nations most ardent immigration foes, whose cries about an influx of refugees from a war-stricken region had barely faded from the news.

Except it didnt.

Anti-immigration advocates have been far quieter about the Biden administrations policy toward Ukrainian refugees than they were about its stance toward Afghan refugees. Whats more, the criticism they have leveled has had almost nothing to do with concerns about vetting or national security. Miller, for example, tweeted dozens of dire warnings about Afghan refugees during the summer and fall of 2021. He has also tweeted frequently about Ukraine since the crisis escalated at the beginning of this year, but not a single time about Bidens plan to accept 100,000 refugees. (Through a spokesperson, he declined an interview request.)

From the June 2022 issue: You cannot host guests forever

To the groups who resettle refugees in the U.S., the divergent responses from the political right are a stark but familiar example of the long-standing bias against immigrants from poor or predominantly Muslim countries in favor of those from Europe, who are predominantly white. Those attitudes are also reflected inand might contribute topublic opinion about Americas refugee policy. In a poll conducted last month for The Atlantic by Leger, 58 percent of respondents supported the U.S. accepting refugees from Ukraine, while just 46 percent backed admitting those from Afghanistan. Asked whether the U.S. should admit more refugees from one country than the other, 23 percent of respondents said the U.S. should take more people from Ukraine, while just 4 percent said the U.S. should accept more from Afghanistan, despite Americas two-decade involvement in the war there. Gallup found even broader support for admitting Ukrainian refugees, the highest for any refugee group it has polled about since 1939.

Americans get a certain amount of compassion fatigue for certain parts of the world that are chronically in turmoil, and no American alive today can ever remember a time of peace in the Middle East, Dan Stein, the president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that seeks a reduction in overall immigration to the U.S., told me. Its also true that Ukraine has not been viewed routinely as a source of refugees, of political conflict, at least not in the modern world.

Senior officials with refugee-resettlement groups told me that they havent put much stock into the reaction of immigration hard-liners, because Republican governors and leaders in Congress have remained broadly supportive of accepting Afghan refugees. But they have sharply criticized the Biden administration for what they say is unequal treatment of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine. It certainly appears that Ukrainians are receiving special treatment, Adam Bates, a policy counsel for the International Refugee Assistance Project, told me.

Under its Uniting With Ukraine program, the Biden administration is waiving all fees associated with applying for humanitarian parole. By contrast, IRAP says, the U.S. government charged more than 40,000 applicants from Afghanistan as much as $575 to seek similar protection last summer. The government is also scrapping requirements that Ukrainians submit evidence that they were specifically targeted by the Russian military or President Vladimir Putin, whereas Afghan applicants must provide proof of individualized, targeted violence against them by the Taliban.

The White House declined to comment. The administration has touted its evacuation of more than 82,000 Afghans to the U.S., including many allies who helped the U.S. military during its 20-year war. In both crises, the government has sought to route many applicants around the official refugee and special-immigrant visa programs because they are so backlogged. Officials have said that the humanitarian parole that the U.S. is offering to Ukrainians lasts for only two years, which Bates took as a suggestion that the government assumes many refugees will want to stay in the country only temporarily. I asked him what he thought was the real reason the Biden administration was expediting the process for Ukrainians in ways it did not for Afghans. This is just speculating, he cautioned in his reply. But to me, I do not think that the influence of systemic racism and xenophobia in this country has been limited to just one party in the context of immigration.

The politics of immigration have bedeviled Biden from his first days in office. Republicans have accused him of countenancing a veritable invasion of the southern border by migrants and asylum seekers, while progressives criticized his decision to keep in place some Trump-administration policies reviled by immigrant advocates. Bidens critics on the right say his lax handling of the southern border has left the country stretched too thin to respond effectively to the humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine. The problem is that resettling refugees takes work and money and infrastructure, which has been overwhelmed by all the illegal aliens who were using asylum as a gambit to get past the Border Patrol, Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies, told me.

Read: The worlds refugee system is broken

Many others, however, say the U.S. has both the moral obligation and the capacity to open its doors to those fleeing war and persecution.

Conservatives who have raised alarms about resettling Afghan refugees say the need to vet them is stronger because the American invasion created enemies who could try to sneak into the U.S. to exact revenge. Theyve also warned about the cultural differences between Afghanistan and the U.S., highlighting reports of child trafficking by male evacuees who claim young girls as their brides.

Krikorian has assailed the nations refugee policy across the board and told me the U.S. could do more good simply by sending money overseas to help resettle evacuees in countries closer to their homeland. But he had harsher words for the Biden administrations pledge to admit refugees from Ukraine. We clearly have more obligation to Afghans than we do to Ukrainians, Krikorian said. At the same time, he said, individual Afghan refugees presented bigger security and cultural concerns than did Ukrainians. As an example, Krikorian referenced reports of widespread sexual abuse of young boys by members of the Afghan security forces made by members of the U.S. military during the war. I wouldnt say because of that, we dont take Afghans, but we do take Ukrainians, he said. But in individual cases, in doing vetting and assessing whether its a good idea to bring somebody into the United States, we definitely should take that into consideration.

Those reports and the stereotypes they feed may help explain why the public voices stronger support for refugees from Ukraine than from Afghanistan, and, on some level, why the government has treated them differently. But to those who work on behalf of refugees, they are beside the point. Of course, we need to vet immigrants who are coming into the U.S. to make sure that they are not a threat to the American public. But we need to do that consistently, Krish OMara Vignarajah, the president of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, told me. Both populations have strong rationales for seeking refuge here in the U.S. We shouldnt pit one population against the other.

See the article here:
The Silence of the Right on Ukrainian Refugees - The Atlantic

Midstate Democrats were bitterly disappointed in 2018 and 2020 after throwing moderates from election central casting up against incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in a Pennsylvania House district that had been redrawn to be much more politically competitive, only to see the lightning rod incumbent send them to costly defeats.

Democratic Party voters opted for a new approach Tuesday, granting their 10th District nomination to Harrisburg attorney and city council member Shamaine Daniels, a woman and a person of color who is less concerned about reaching the voters that are already committed to Perry or committed to his defeat than she is about reaching pools of voters who havent shown up before.

On the day after her primary win over retired Army officer Rick Coplen, Daniels was realistic about the task ahead.

Its not an unwinnable race. It is a difficult race to win, the 43-year-old Venezuelan immigrant and mother of one told PennLive Wednesday.

Daniels said she hopes to build a winning game plan by attracting support from a broad coalition of supporters - including out-of-district donors motivated by a desire to defeat Perry, the chairman of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus - and, most importantly, making sure the voters who dont often think about politics as something for them understand theres someone who wants to work on their issues who needs their support.

If you only rely on those people who are already voting, its a losing race, Daniels explained of the Democrats position in this race. If you can bring out the people who have never voted before, its a winning race.

Daniels, much like progressive Democratic primary candidate Tom Brier two years ago, believes she is has the street credentials to get that done, especially in the districts urban centers like Harrisburg and York where low voter turnout has become a condition.

After arriving in the U.S. with her family 30 years ago, Daniels graduated from high school in Philadelphia, and then earned her bachelors degree from West Chester University. She went on to gain her law degree from the University of Cincinnati.

She made her mark as a young lawyer as part of the team that litigated against the so-called illegal immigration relief act passed in Hazleton with the full-throated support of then-Mayor Lou Barletta. The ordinance was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court judge in 2007.

Daniels by then had relocated to Harrisburg. where she specialized in immigration and employment law and became active in Democratic politics. After an unsuccessful bid for Dauphin County Clerk of Courts in 2011, she won election to Harrisburgs City Council in 2013, and is now just starting her third term in that office.

On council, she said she takes satisfaction in the completion of zoning changes that Daniels says have lowered barriers for small businesses to open and operate in the city, helping to stimulate the local economy and build an entrepreneur class within its residents, as well as steps to promote development of affordable housing, and the reduction of penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Perry is seeking a 6th term in Congress from what - just based on past voter performance alone - shapes up as one of Pennsylvanias more competitive districts.

His campaign released a statement after his primary win Tuesday night that suggests hes ready for the fight, in which he sees himself as a key player in the fight to flip majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives back to the Republican Party..

Im honored once again to have earned the overwhelming support of Republicans throughout the District, Perry said.

For voters of the 10th District, theres never been a clearer choice: continue to surrender your hard-earned freedom and dollars to the party led by a failing and feckless President and his enablers like Speaker Pelosi, or reclaim your independence and reject bigger government, record inflation, skyrocketing costs of living, and our National security.

Our neighbors know what I believe. My opponent, Shamaine Daniels, has been an apologist for failure and a promoter of the Biden-Pelosi failed, dangerous, and radical agenda thats destroying our nation day by day. I look forward to a vigorous debate, and Im confident that the voters of the 10th Congressional District will once again choose a brighter, stronger America that encourages the re-growth of strength and prosperity we once knew.

One thing that will be different for Perry is that this is the first time he will have faced voters since being identified as one of the key Congressional allies in former President Donald J. Trumps attempts to cling to power after his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

Perry is currently facing subpoenas from the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol by angry Trump supporters for his role in the proposed installation of a new Attorney General who was sympathetic to Trumps unfounded claims of voter fraud.

Daniels knows that is a potential moment of reckoning for Perry, and she hopes to build a bridge that Perry supporters who are uncomfortable with his work on the election will cross over this year. She also hopes that Perrys notoriety will draw outside donors to her quest to raise somewhere between $2 and $3 million for the fall campaign.

Daniels has said she is driven by the goal of providing residents what she believes is better representation than they are getting from Perry, whom she feels has tended in recent years to pit his supporters against his opponents.

Hes made his career getting support by scaring people, said Daniels, I think this is an opportunity to show the district what it is that Perry has been telling them they need to be afraid of.

But citing the experiences of 2018 and 2020, she also believes that many of Perrys supporters are dug in for their guy, she said she believes the race ahead cant be solely a referendum on the incumbent. Daniels said the onus will be on her to prove herself as a good alternative.

To beat Scott Perry, we have to have high voter turnout, and for voters to turn out they need to know why they should vote for me, Daniels said.

To that end, she said she is motivated by a desire to advocate for issues like comprehensive immigration reform, which she notes will help not only Americas newest residents, but also the employers that badly need their contributions, and preserving womens reproductive rights.

Continued here:
With one battle won, Shamaine Daniels is getting ready for the campaign ahead - PennLive

A bipartisan group of senators will formally launch immigration talks on Thursday, marking the latest entry by Congress to try to capture the long-sought policy priority in recent years.

The group will include Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as well as Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), according to Durbin. All of the senators are members of the Judiciary panel.

A bipartisan immigration deal is a heavy lift, particularly in an election year. But the talks likely represent Democrats best shot at passing a bill after hopes of including immigration reform in a sweeping Democratic-only tax and spending bill, known as Build Back Better, ran aground last year.

Instead of trying to craft an agreement from scratch, the group is going to use smaller, already introduced, bipartisan immigration-related bills to try to put together a package that could get the 60 votes needed to advance through the Senate.

Weve got a list. Weve got a starting list. There could be some more. But its a starting point. Ive talked to four or five Republican senators today. Theres a genuine interest in doing something, Durbin said while warning against the talks becoming top-heavy.

The meeting will be the first formal sit-down that the group has had and comes after Durbin and Tillis told The Hill earlier this month that they intended to convene an immigration gang after the two-week April break.

Tillis said on Wednesday that the group was looking at different proposals where we look like weve got bipartisan support.

What you have to do obviously is you take a look at the proposals in isolation then you have to reconcile them against how you would put them together for something that would work as a package, Tillis told The Hill.

The nascent immigration talks come as lawmakers are entrenched in a fight over the administrations decision to lift Title 42,a Trump-era pandemic public health policy that the Biden administration kept in place but now plans to lift on May 23.

Crafted in the early days of the pandemic, the border policy allows rapid expulsion of migrants in the name of public health and prevents them from seeking asylum.

The administrations decision has sparked fierce pushback from Republicans as well as some Democratic senators. But the administration is also facing pressure from a swath of Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates to stick by the decision, arguing that the Trump-era program is inhumane.

A GOP demand for a vote to effectively block the administration from lifting Title 42, which has also gotten snagged by a court fight, has stalemated a deal for $10 billion in coronavirus aid. Republicans view the two issues as related because the administrations decision to lift Title 42 comes as there is a broader coronavirus public health emergency still in effect.

Asked if he would try to keep the Title 42 fight separate from the immigration group talks, Durbin replied, As far as we can.

View post:
Senate group to start immigration talks Thursday - The Hill