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Something happened last Saturday that was significant because it was unprecedented: Donald Trump spoke at a rally in the heart of Trump countryCullman, Alabama, which gave the incumbent president more than 88 percent of the vote in 2020and he was booed. The jeers were scattered but noticeable, enough so that Trump responded to them.

Trump had encouraged those in the audience to get vaccinated. I believe totally in your freedoms. I do. Youve got to do what you have to do, Trump said, but I recommend: Take the vaccines. I did itits good. Yet for a large number of Trump supporters in the audience, even though the former president hadnt embraced government or private-sector mandates, he had crossed a redline.

David A. Graham: The noisy minority

Two days later Alex Jones, the far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Trump courted in 2016, rebuked Trump. After playing a clip of Trump declaring that the vaccines are working, Jones responded, BS. Trump, thats a lie. Youre not stupid. Jones added, Shame on you, Trump. Seriously. Hey, if you dont have the good sense to save yourself and your political career, thats okay. At least youre gonna get some good Republicans elected, and you know, we like ya. But my God. Maybe youre not that bright. Maybe Trumps actually a dumbass.

These incidents are just a few of the straws in the turbulent wind, signs that something ominous is happening to the Republican Party. The GOP base may be identifying less and less with Trump personallythat was inevitable after he left the presidencybut it is not identifying any less with the conspiracist and antidemocratic impulses that defined him over the past five years.

In fact, the opposite is happening.

Not long ago, Trump was viewed as avant-garde, outrageous, and scandalous, Americas enfant terrible. His actions were viewed as so shocking and norm-shattering that he couldnt be ignored. In todays Republican Party, however, Trump is becoming what was once unthinkableconventional, unexceptional, even something of an establishment figure.

In a right-wing movement that is home to a growing assortment of cranks and kooksMarjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar and Lauren Boebert, Mo Brooks and Madison Cawthorn, Ron Johnson and Marsha Blackburn, Mike Lindell and Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, Cyber Ninjas and QAnon, anti-vaxxers and insurrectionistsTrump looks rather ordinary. He wants credit for the vaccines that were developed during his administration, which mark a genuine medical milestone, but in some quarters of todays Republican Party, that makes Trump suspect, too closely aligned with the hated Anthony Fauci, a dumbass.

The dark, destructive place the GOP has found itself in isnt shocking. For more than half a decade, the Republican baseMAGA worldhas been fed a constant diet of outrageous lies and conspiracy theories, not just by Trump but also by his allies in the party and the right-wing media ecosystem. Negative emotions such as fear, rage, and resentment have been constantly stirred up. Over time, transgressive behaviors became chic; owning the libs became the name of the game. What mattered was hating the right people.

The MAGA brain was rewired. The psychologist Daniel Goleman refers to amygdala hijack, an intense emotional reaction thats dramatically disproportionate to the situation. When a person has been triggered, their emotions take over, and they see the world through a distorted lens.

Republicans who assumed that the party would return to sanity after Trump left office never understood how deforming the effects of his presidency would be. For many, Trumps behaviors were initially a bug; eventually, they became a feature. Republicans ignored his corruptions and reveled in his cruelty. They entered Trumps hall of mirrors, and they rather enjoyed it.

To better understand whats happening in the GOP, think of a person with addiction who over time develops a tolerance; as a result, they need more potent and more frequent doses of the drug to get their desired high. And sometimes even that isnt enough. They might turn to a more potent drug, which offers a more intense experience and a longer-lasting high, but at the price of considerably more danger.

Chris Hayes: The Republican Party is radicalizing against democracy

What was seen as shocking in 2017 is now anodyne. The ethical lines that existed then turned out to have been drawn in sand. When you cross into territory devoid of moral axioms or epistemic standardsthe kind of world you would find in a Turgenev novelthings can get very ugly, very quickly. Even Trumpwhose derangement now includes turning a violent Capitol Hill rioter who was shot and killed by a police officer into a martyr, falsely accusing the police officer of murder, and issuing yet another barely concealed incitement to violencecan begin to look like a mainstream figure within the party. At some point in the future, the same may be said of Marjorie Taylor Greene.

All of this is not only worrisome but deeply dispiriting, especially for those of us who were loyal Republicans for our entire political life, until 2016. To watch an entire party bend and then break and stay broken, to witness it become what it once claimed to loathe, to see it move in an even more frenzied direction after Trumps presidency than during it, is painful. But not nearly as painful as staying silent or becoming complicit with those who continue to cause grave damage to conservatism, to truth, and to our republic.

Read more here:
Trumpism Has Entered Its Final Form - The Atlantic

Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, presides over a partially filled floor session on Feb. 12. A similar scene played out on August 25 when minority-caucus Republicans refused to attend a floor session. There were too few members present to conduct business. (Peter Segall/Juneau Empire via AP, Pool)

The Alaska House of Representatives couldnt conduct any business Wednesday when minority-caucus Republicans refused to attend a floor session.The mostly Democratic House majority didnt have enough members present to reach a quorum.

The two sides traded accusations.

House Speaker Louise Stutes said the absence of minority Republicans is holding up the Legislatures ability to pay for permanent fund dividends. Stutes is a Kodiak Republican who caucuses with the majority.

Its very sad for me, to see these people putting Alaskans secondary to the my-way-or-highway and that seems to be the way their approach is: Its their way or the highway, instead of, Lets sit down and work this out, she said.

Dillingham independent Rep. Bryce Edgmon said theres limited time to pass the dividend bill, since both chambers are struggling to have enough members in Juneau.

And unfortunately, the alternative if we miss that window of time, in August as we turn the corner into September we may walk out of here with a zero PFD, he said. And thats not what our majority wants.

RELATED: Alaska House committee lowers proposed PFD amount to $1,100

But Minority Leader Cathy Tilton, a Wasilla Republican, pushed back against the idea that her caucus caused the failed floor session. She said it was the majority that couldnt get a quorum.The majority caucus holds a slim one-member advantage and Rep. Chris Tuck, D-Anchorage, was absent. Rep. Sara Rasmussen, R-Anchorage, who doesnt belong to either caucus, also was absent.

Tilton said she warned the majority that minority Republicans may not attend the session because they dont want to see a PFD bill pushed through that they cant weigh-in on. Her caucus asked for the ability to draft and vote on amendments to the bill.

Stutes told legislators in an email Wednesday that she planned to get through all amendments that night. Tilton said that wasnt enough time, since the lawyers who draft legislation dont have enough time to draft amendments requested after 6 p.m. for the same night.

Anchorage Democratic Rep. Matt Claman said hes not aware of any previous time when legislators in the Capitol refused to attend a floor session. He compared it to a recent dispute in the Texas Legislature,in which Democratic lawmakers left the state to prevent a quorum to conduct some business.While the Texas House speaker signed arrest warrants for absent members, Stutes said she hoped Alaska legislators would work together.

Minority Republicans also asked for hearings on thegovernors proposals to amend the state constitution to include the dividendand lower the state limit on spending, as well as to debate other legislation affecting the state budget in the long term.

We should be having hearings, Tilton said. Theres nothing holding us back from having those hearings, so it doesnt seem like there should be a problem with making those happen.

[Sign up for Alaska Public Medias daily newsletter to get our top stories delivered to your inbox.]

After hours of trying, and failing, to reach a quorum majority members held a brief news conference. They said they planned to hold hearings on the governors constitutional amendment idea and the other budget bills next week.The House Special Committee on Ways and Means has scheduled five meetings in the next two weeks, including hearing a bill from Wasilla Republican Rep. David Eastman who is in the minority that would make changes related to the budget.

The majority caucus had planned to act quickly on the bill to fund PFDs,which the House Finance Committee passed Wednesday morning.The current version would set dividends at $1,100, which is less than half of the $2,350 that Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy and some minority Republicans support.

Tilton said the caucuses differ on how to pass the dividend funding.

While its important that we get a dividend out to Alaskans I would completely agree with that I think we may disagree on the amount of that dividend, and what it looks like, she said.

In other news, Dunleavy announced that the state would fund university scholarships and the medical education program, known as WWAMI.Funding for the two programs about $15 million has been held up in a legal dispute over unspent funds that get swept into a state savings account each year.He said the programs were funded for the next year before the rest of the money in the accounts to pay the programs was swept.

More here:
In feud over PFD, Alaska Legislature grinds to a halt when Republican lawmakers refuse to show up - Alaska Public Media News

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Now that the House is moving forward with the 3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan, Republican support for the $1.2-trillion bipartisan infrastructure package has dwindled.

"If the T&I bill would have been standalone, I absolutely would have been supportive, but the bill changed. I mean, you know, if $1 trillion of $5 trillion is all that I can support, that's a negative weight, said Congressman Dan Meuser, who sits on The Problem Solvers Caucus - involved in negotiating the bill and providing amendments.

He's now a no: "It's the most liberal, big government, expenditure in the history of our country."

All of this is happening against the backdrop of the midterm elections.

"Thus, as we look to both control of the Senate and the House, Pennsylvania is once again an essential battleground," said political scientist Chris Borick, Director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.

The move runs the risk of alienating moderates, who are pivotal for Republicans. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy hasn't voiced support one way or the other - yet.

"A lot of infrastructure elements that we're looking at, that are part of the popular discussions, are very popular among the public, including among Republicans," Borick said.

However, the move is also a major risk for moderate Democrats.

"They've been comparing it to the Great Society of the 1960s, but after that round of Great Society legislation, Richard Nixon was elected in a landslide in 1968," said John Kincaid, Director of the Meyner Center for the Study of State and Local Government at Lafayette College.

Congresswoman Susan Wild admits tying the bills together is politically risky but feels it's necessary. Without reconciliation, progressives may block it.

"I want to see that bipartisan infrastructure deal voted on quickly, but obviously, we need to make sure we have the votes to pass it," Wild said.

"They're weighing at the end of the day. If they can have some deliverables. Things they can say including moderate Democrats that got done," Borick said.

The package will now move to the Senate, where moderate Democrats, like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virgina and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, are expected to trim things back. That move could ruffle progressives.

"If Nancy Pelosi doesn't tread very carefully here, they could lose both bills," Kincaid said. They know once these are in place its very difficult for them to be removed. So even if it costs them the House in the next election, they will have cemented those programs in place.

Excerpt from:
Congress moving forward with budget reconciliation, eroding Republican support and potentially putting both parties at risk in midterms - 69News...

EXCLUSIVE: Twenty Republican state attorneys general are urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to appeal a federal judges ruling that struck down an illegal reentry law after finding it has a "disparate impact on Latinx persons."

"We appreciate that you recently filed a notice of appeal, preserving your ability to defend the law on appeal. We now urge you to follow through by defending the law before the Ninth Circuit and (if necessary) the Supreme Court," the letter from the attorneys general said. "We ask that you confirm expeditiously DOJs intent to do so.

FEDERAL JUDGE DISMISSES ILLEGAL REENTRY CASE, SAYS LAW HAS 'DISPARATE IMPACT ON LATINX PERSONS

Section 1326 makes it illegal for someone who has been deported or denied entry to the U.S. to reenter, punishable by fines and possible jail time.

Federal Judge Miranda Du was ruling in a case concerning someone charged with illegal reentry who had been found in the country illegally in 2019 after having been deported multiple times. She accepted the arguments from the defense that the law is racially motivated and discriminatory.

"Because [the defendant] has established that Section 1326 was enacted with a discriminatory purpose and that the law has a disparate impact on Latinx persons, and the government fails to show that Section 1326 would have been enacted absent racial animus x the court will grant the motion," the ruling said.

SCOTUS REMAIN IN MEXICO RULING' MARKS LATEST IMMIGRATION DEFEAT FOR BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

The case cited Border Patrol data that over 97% of people apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2000 were of Mexican descent, and 87% in 2010. The government did not dispute disparate impact, but instead attributed it to geography and proportionality noting that Mexico borders the U.S. as well as the history of Mexican employment issues and other factors.

The government also argued that it makes sense that Mexican citizens make up a high percentage of illegal entry defendants "given the suggestion that they made up a disproportionately high percentage of the overall illegal alien population."

"The court is not persuaded," Du wrote.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN'S ICE RULES THAT NARROWED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARREST PRIORITIES

Instead, Du accepted the argument that the legislative history shows that racism and eugenics were motivating factors in the passage of legislation in 1929, which formed the basis for the 1952 legislation. She also said there has "been no attempt at any point to grapple with the racist history of Section 1326 or remove its influence on the legislation."

As a consequence, the judge ruled that the law violated the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment, and therefore threw out the indictment.

The attorneys general cited the ongoing crisis at the border including comments by officials that the situation is "unsustainable" -- and warned that if the DOJ did not act on appeal, then it would only get worse, calling a failure to appeal "an announcement that would, in effect, tell already-deported aliens that they are free to try again."

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"Indeed acquiescing in the district courts opinion would be tantamount to announcing legalization of illegal re-entry," they write.

They note that Garlands DOJ has filed a notice of intent to appeal, but said they have reason to worry considering what they see as a "surrender" by the administration at the border.

"The States should not have to worry about the administration doing its job and defending federal law. But, given this administrations habit of policymaking through the expedient of strategic surrender, the States have reason to fear."

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Republican AGs urge Garland to appeal ruling that determined illegal reentry law to be discriminatory - Fox News

In the race to get Americans vaccinated, two groups are commanding a lot of attention: Republicans and white evangelicals. Both are less likely to have been vaccinated already and more likely to refuse vaccination altogether.

But its the overlap between white Republicans and white evangelicals that is especially telling, as white evangelical Republicans are among the most likely groups in the U.S. to refuse vaccination. According to a June survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, where Im the research director, and the Interfaith Youth Core, white evangelical Republicans were considerably less likely to say they were vaccinated or planning to get vaccinated as soon as possible (53 percent) than Republicans who were not white evangelicals (62 percent). Moreover, white evangelical Republicans were the most likely of any large subgroup we surveyed to say they were refusing to get vaccinated (26 percent).

That the combination of being a Republican and a white evangelical would form a particularly toxic anti-vax stew, more significant than party or religion alone, seems obvious to me, but then again, I grew up in rural Texas I see this combination of beliefs in motion every day on Facebook, where Im connected to many high school and college classmates.

According to PRRIs 2020 religion census, the county where I lived longest as a kid (Leon) is 72 percent white Christian, including 44 percent white evangelical, and election data shows 87 percent of the county voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020. Just over one-third of the countys eligible population is fully vaccinated, even though COVID-19 case rates are higher than they have ever been. At least three people who went to high school with me have died, while tracking statistics say at least 1 in 9 Leon County residents have been ill almost as many as in New York City (1 in 8), one of the hardest-hit areas in the country, and well over the rate in Washington, D.C. (1 in 13), where I live now.

This is significant because Leon County is extremely rural, with less than 20,000 total residents, including less than 2,000 in Buffalo, the town I lived near. For reference, my high school has only about 260 students at any given time. If you need ICU treatment, you have to travel there are currently no hospitals with ICUs in the county.

But what is also significant about Leon County is the role religion has played in residents low vaccination rates even when faced with death from the coronavirus. When my classmates were hospitalized with COVID-19, there were repeated calls for prayers and proclamations that God would provide healing. When they died, those prayer requests became comments that God called [them] home.

The belief that God controls everything that happens in the world is a core tenet of evangelicalism 84 percent of white evangelicals agreed with this statement in PRRI polling from 2011, while far fewer nonwhite, non-evangelical Christians shared this belief. The same poll also showed that white evangelicals were more likely than any other Christian group to believe that God would punish nations for the sins of some of its citizens and that natural disasters were a sign from God. Whats more, other research from the Journal of Psychology and Theology has found that some evangelical Christians rationalize illnesses like cancer as Gods will.

This is why I remember friends and acquaintances in Leon County when I think about how religious beliefs influence ones attitude toward COVID-19 and vaccination. PRRIs March survey found that 28 percent of white evangelical Republicans agreed that God always rewards those who have faith with good health and will protect them from being infected with COVID-19, compared with 23 percent of Republicans who were not white evangelicals. And that belief correlates more closely with vaccination views among white evangelical Republicans 44 percent of those who said God would protect them from the virus also said they would refuse to get vaccinated. That number drops to 32 percent among Republicans who are not white evangelicals.

Complicating matters further, the pandemic also fits neatly into end times thinking the belief that the end of the world and Gods ultimate judgment is coming soon. In fact, nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Republicans (64 percent) from our March survey agreed that the chaos in the country today meant the end times were near. Faced, then, with the belief that death and the end of the world are a fulfillment of Gods will, it becomes difficult to convince these believers that vaccines are necessary. Sixty-nine percent of white evangelical Republicans who said they refused to get vaccinated agreed that the end times were near.

Moreover, given how many white evangelicals identify as Republican or lean Republican about 4 in 5 per our June survey disentangling evangelicals religious and political beliefs is nearly impossible. Consider how many white evangelical leaders like former Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. downplayed the severity of the pandemic in line with Trump. Falwell was hardly the only evangelical leader to do this either. If anything, the pattern of white evangelical resistance to vaccination has reached the point where some white evangelical leaders who might otherwise urge vaccination hesitate to do so because of the political climate.

In the same survey, about 2 in 5 white evangelical Republicans (43 percent), and Republicans more broadly (41 percent), said one reason they hadnt gotten vaccinated was that the COVID-19 pandemic had been overblown.

It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that most white evangelical Republicans, and Republicans in general, disagreed with our question about the Golden Rule, that because getting vaccinated against COVID-19 helps protect everyone, it is a way to live out the religious principle of loving my neighbors (57 percent and 58 percent, respectively). This may be because for some white evangelicals and Republicans, politics and religion are inseparable and Gods will, or their interpretation of it, controls everything.

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Why Some White Evangelical Republicans Are So Opposed To The COVID-19 Vaccine - FiveThirtyEight