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Republicans face a day of reckoning - The Herald Journal

In the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection, scores of corporations promised to cease donations to the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election results. More than a year later, many have quietly reneged on that promise.

Judd Legum, who has tracked corporations promises and donations in the wake of the insurrection, joined Boston Public Radio in advance of Thursdays House Select Committee hearings on Jan. 6 to share his findings.

Fifteen companies, including AT&T, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Walgreens and Walmart, have restarted directly donating to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. Ten companies have donated to larger multi-candidate groups that include the election objectors. Another 100 companies pledged to either suspend or reevaluate their political spending and have since resumed their direct or indirect donations, as of Legums latest research by June 7.

I think for some companies, it was definitely just marketing, Legum said. He pointed to AT&T as an example, which made its pledge in January 2020. Then, the company donated to a multi-candidate group, claiming their money was not going to any of the 147 Republicans. In 2022, the company donated more than $200,000 to dozens of the Republican objectors.

He also pointed out that public opinion may not matter as much to companies who don't rely on everyday consumers as customers. Some of the first companies that ended up giving to the folks who voted to overturn the election on January 6 were defense contractors, because they really don't have to worry about how they're perceived, except for among members of Congress, he said.

For Republicans who make election lies a core part of their platform, Legum noted that they are not feeling a huge financial hit after losing some corporate donations. They've been able to tap into the energy around the Big Lie about the election and use that as a fundraising vehicle and so for them, their contributions are larger than ever, he said.

Legum and his team have found 33 companies kept their promises not to donate to the 147 Republicans, including Airbnb, American Express, Eversource Energy and Vertex. Another group of 26 companies have kept pledges to suspend all PAC donations, among which are Target, Facebook and Bank of America.

Over time, he expects more companies will go back on their promises, especially as some predict Republicans will gain ground in the midterm elections this fall. This isn't only speculation, there's been reporting in the Wall Street Journal and in my own conversations with people in the PAC world, he said. People are being very direct about, Now is the time to resume these contributions or you're not going to get meetings.

As for corporations, paying their way to the good side of a politician often pays off. It's the annual appropriations, it's regulations, these companies might need something slipped into a bill and in the past they've been able to rely on X, Y, Z congressperson to get that in in the chaos of these huge omnibus bills, Legum explained. That person might not be around if they don't resume contributions. So that's really the leverage, and for many of these companies, it's working.

It wasnt always this way. Legum pointed to the 1980s as a moment where corporate spending on politics grew, a shift he attributed to companies growing emphasis on pleasing shareholders and maximizing quarterly profits.

Companies in the 50s and 60s, if you looked at corporate annual reports, they would brag about how much tax money they spent ... because that was sort of seen as part of what it meant to be a good corporate citizen, Legum said. As it's become more important to drive your tax rate down to drive away any regulation that could get in the way of profits ... one of the ways to make sure to do that is to make sure that you're very well connected politically.

In terms of the everyday consumers impact on corporate spending, Legum feels mixed as to how effective they can be in holding large corporations accountable. He also tracks corporate spending around other issues including climate change, abortion and LGBTQ rights, and knows that few companies have consistent politics.

A company that's good on one issue may not be as good on another, he said. Fundamentally, I think that there needs to be a shift both in the way corporations operate, and the way the government operates to make some systemic changes. It's going to be hard for you as an individual consumer to change the way things are done.

Still, Legum believes ordinary people can wield some power. I do think over time, just allowing people to realize that consumers are paying attention, that they're focused in on these issues makes a difference, he said. That's why these companies decided to stop making these contributions, and they were stuck doing it to begin with.

Judd Legum writes the newsletter Popular Information, and was previously the founder and editor of ThinkProgress.

Original post:
After Jan. 6, hundreds of corporations vowed to not donate to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. Many haven't kept their promise. - GBH...

Dana NesselPhoto: MSNBC screenshot

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently blasted the numerous Republicans who have sought to criminalize child attendance at drag queen performances, calling it a not a problem and a needlessly divisive wedge issue.

I am so tired of having prominent members of our state government create wedge issues that dont help, that dont heal us but divide us. And thats all they do, Nessel said while speaking at a civil rights conference in Lansing on Wednesday.

Related: This 12-year-old bought his family a house with money he earned fromdrag

Nessel said that state leaders who want to improve health care, education, and housing in the state shouldnt target minority groups, commenting, [You] know what is not a problem for kids who are seeking a good education? Drag queens.

Drag queens are entertainment, she added, according to The Detroit News. And you know what Ill say that was totally not poll-tested, Id say this, A drag queen for every school.'

At other points, she called drag queens fun, stating that they can help cheer up children with emotional issues and make everything better.

Nessels comments were likely a reaction to Republican efforts to criminalize the presence of children at drag shows. Tudor Dixon, a Republican candidate for Michigan governor, said he would support a bill handing down severe criminal penalties for adults who involve children in drag shows.

In response to Nessels comments, the former presidents son, Donald Trump Jr. wrote on Twitter, A Drag Queen for every school is a great summation of todays Democrat Party Platform.

The Michigan State Republican Party Chief of Staff, Paul Codres, wrote in response to Nessels comment, This is unbelievable. This is not normal. She shouldnt be allowed to joke this away.

In early June, Texas state Rep. Bryan Slaton (R)announcedthat he intends to file a bill during the state legislatures upcoming session that would ban drag shows in the presence of minors. He has claimed that drag shows subject underage kids to inappropriate sexual content by adults.

A few days later, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) implied he is open to using Floridas child protective service laws to terminate the parental rights of adults who take their kids to see drag shows. When will the sexualization of children stop? he asked in a tweet. His press secretary, Christina Pushaw, has said that any person who supports acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people in schools supports pedophilic child rape.

Right-wingers have increasingly targeted child-centered drag events such as Drag Queen Story Hour, accusing the educational and LGBTQ-inclusive family-friendly events of grooming children for sexual assault and exposing them to inappropriate sexual content. Most such events just feature lip-sync performances, sing-alongs, dance-alongs, and storytelling by drag performers in colorful costumes and makeup. The performers teach kids about self-acceptance and caring for others who may look or love differently than they do.

Right-wingers have issued terroristic bomb and death threats against local libraries for holding these events. Such protesters sometimes infiltrate the venues, frightening children and their families as well as recording and threatening public exposure of any adults who participate in them.

The rest is here:
Republicans freak out when Michigan AG jokes that there should be a drag queen for every school - LGBTQ Nation

COLUMBIA A pair of far-right Republicans are challenging the results of South Carolina's June 14 primary in statewide races where they both lost by six-figure margins.

Lauren Martel who lost to incumbent Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson by nearly 109,000 votes filed a complaint with the S.C. Election Commission demanding its members refuse to certify the results citing vulnerabilities with the state's elections systems she believes could have impacted the final result.

Martel was joined by Harrison "Trucker Bob" Musselwhite, a populist conservative candidate for governor who lost his primary to incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster by more than 244,000 votes.

He filed an identical complaint with the S.C. Republican Party also on June 15.

The allegations include claims the states voter rolls were not up to date and that they included individuals registered to vote at commercial addresses.

Other charges are that poll watchers were harassed at several voting locations and that voting machines were connected to the internet, leaving them vulnerable to tampering.

Both letters include a claim the candidates personally knew a voter who had moved to Tennessee two years prior but was still included on South Carolina's voter lists.

"The races were overrun with multiple complaints and problems from many polling places, and filed by candidates all across the state," Martel wrote in her letter.

Martel, who could not be reached for comment, did not provide evidence to support the claims in her letter.

For the candidates to be successful they would have to make the case to the state GOP and the election commission the alleged discrepancies were great enough to impact the final result.

Some of the claims Martel presented don't mesh with standard election procedure, while others were challenged as wrong by the state party.

As for the voting machines being connected to the internet, the state says the check-in systems used by poll workers are connected to the internet but that individual machines are not, shielding them from the outside.

And while there were reports of incorrect ballots distributed in some districts, as well as difficulties in results being reported in Beaufort County, none appeared serious enough to have a tangible impact on the final result or undermine the legitimacy of the election, officials have said.

We didn't hear of any issues across the state, said Claire Brady, a spokeswoman for the state GOP. It was a very smooth election.

The candidates' claims underscore the mistrust among some conservatives in election systems nationwide following widely debunked claims by then-President Donald Trump and his supporters that the 2020 presidential election was systematically rigged against him.

In the wake of 2020, conservative activists pushed for state officials to conduct an audit of South Carolinas elections, while the General Assembly responded with sweeping reforms to the states elections systems this year.

The state GOP said this week's primary was fair and square.

South Carolina handled the elections the right way in 2020," Brady said. "We handled them the right way in the municipal elections in 2021. And they were handled the right way in 2022. And we stand by that. We believe it wholeheartedly.

Contact Nick Reynolds at 843-834-4267. Follow him on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds.

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2 Republicans from the far right challenge results of SC primaries they lost handily - Charleston Post Courier

Fourteen Republican Senators on Thursday voted against a proposed bill that would expand health care for veterans of the U.S. military.

The U.S. Senate passed the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 in a bipartisan effort to address health care, research, resources and more for veterans exposed to toxic substances during military service. All Democrats voted for the bill.

Republican Senators Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Steve Daines of Montana did not vote. The bill now heads back to the House before going in front of President Joe Biden.

A spokesperson for Daines told Newsweek he was not present to vote due to the catastrophic floods in Montana and assessing in-state damage with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The bill provides mental health services, counseling and other forms of medical care through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Veterans eligible for such care include those who "participated in a toxic exposure risk activity," which is designated as a required "qualifying activity" as part of an exposure tracking record system.

Other veterans made eligible include those who served in "specified locations on specified dates," or were "deployed in support of a specified contingency operation."

Heath Robinson was an Ohio National Guard soldier who was deployed to Kosovo and Iraq and died in 2020. His family has spoken out about what Robinson experienced, including developing stage-four lung cancer likely caused by prolonged toxic exposure, according to an oncologist.

Veterans who are likely to benefit from the legislation include those affected by Agent Orange, in addition to the approximate 3.5 million post-9/11 veterans exposed to burn pits during deployments.

The Senate Republicans who voted against the bill include: Richard Burr of North Carolina, Mike Crapo of Idaho, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mike Lee of Utah, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Rand Paul of Kentucky, James Risch of Idaho, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Richard Shelby of Alabama, John Thune of South Dakota, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

Senators Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, and Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, introduced the bill. On the Senate floor on Wednesday, Tester said Congress had "a chance to do the right thing by their families and future generations of our all-volunteer military."

"Let me be clear: This bill isn't about Democrats versus Republicans," said Tester, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. "It's not about political posturing. It's about Americans standing up for those who have served and sacrificed on behalf of this country and the freedoms we have today.

"In fact, it's even more than that. It's about righting a wrong that has been ignored for too damn long."

Moran, in his own statement released Thursday, called the legislation a "priority" for both he and Tester and thanked the senator across the aisle for his leadership. Moran also thanked Heath Robinson and all veterans for their input on the "long-overdue bill."

"As a nation, we recognize the physical, obvious wounds of war," Moran said. "We are improving our ability to recognize and treat the mental wounds of war, though we still have a long ways [sic] to go. No longer can we ignore the wounds of war from toxic exposures. Veterans suffering from toxic exposures have been relying on a broken system cobbled together through decades of patchwork fixes that often leaves them without health care or benefits."

The White House also released a statement on behalf of President Joe Biden, commending the "remarkable work" of Tester and Moran and encouraging the House to "swiftly" pass the bill so it can be made law.

The president described the PACT Act as the "largest single bill in American history to address our service members' exposure to burn pits and other toxic substances."

"This bill will provide expanded access to health care and disability benefits for veterans harmed by certain toxic exposures, whether in the jungles of Vietnam or the mountains of Afghanistan," the statement read. "It will also let the Department of Veterans Affairs move more quickly and comprehensively in the future to determine if illnesses are related to military service, and it will offer critical support to survivors who were harmed by exposures, including from water contamination at Camp LeJeune."

The American Legion, the nation's largest veterans organization, also praised the Senate for bill passage.

"Today, the U.S. Senate has saved lives and truly delivered for veterans," American Legion National Commander Paul E. Dillard said in a statement. "By passing the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act, the 117th Congress has put substance behind the phrase, 'Thank you for your service.'

"The American Legion is grateful for the service of millions of veterans who were exposed to burn pits, atomic radiation, Agent Orange and other environmental poisons. Thanks to the U.S. Congress, these men and women will be able to receive the care and benefits they have earned," the statement continued.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough previously said in a statement attained by Newsweek that the bill "would codify many of the ongoing efforts by the department to improve its process for establishment of presumptions of service connection due to toxic exposure, reducing the burden for veterans and increasing transparency."

"We support the expansion of access to VA health care in the PACT Act and will work to ensure that the expansion of eligibility for health care does not result in the delay or disruption of care for those Veterans already receiving health care from VA," he added.

Jon Stewart, who has been outspoken in providing veterans with assistance and benefits, last month questioned Americans' real affinity for veterans at a Memorial Day event in Washington, D.C.

Update 6/17/22, 12:37 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a comment from a Daines spokesperson.

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Fourteen Republicans Voted Against Bill Expanding Care for War Veterans - Newsweek