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Related video: Arkansas governor ponders future in post-Trump GOPRepublican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to re-election in deep-red Oklahoma.A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nations largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trumps position nearly 90% of the time.But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a Freedom Rally" headlined by Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough.When James (Lankford) certified the big lie, he joined the big lie," Jackson Lahmeyer told the raucous crowd in Norman, citing Lankford's failure to endorse Trump's false claims about the election outcome. The 2020 presidential election that was a stolen election and we will never, ever allow it to happen again. The state's GOP chairman, John Bennett, has already endorsed Lahmeyer in the race. Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity. In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border.I think its unquestionably attributable to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the insurrection and former President Trumps claims of voter fraud, said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.Some conservative incumbents are obvious targets for right-wing challenges notably U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney in Wyoming and Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio who voted to impeach Trump. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's offense was refusing to block Georgia's electoral votes from being awarded to Biden. But with the 2022 election cycle approaching, the backlash is also touching even those who backed Trump consistently through countless controversies. Texas' Abbott echoed Trump's partisan positions and has banked $55 million in campaign funds, more than any sitting governor in history.But he's drawn a challenge from Allen West, who until recently was the chairman of the Texas GOP. West, a tea party firebrand and former Florida congressman, has attacked Abbott's leadership after Democrats temporarily thwarted a GOP voting bill by decamping to Washington.And he can draw a crowd. Last year, West led a boisterous rally outside the governors mansion to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.We cannot sit around and continue to do nothing, West told supporters in South Texas during one of his first campaign stops. Actually winning a primary is probably more than many challengers, including West, can expect. But they can succeed in pushing the party farther to the right while also raising their own profiles as public figures.Republican officeholders have faced challenges from the right in the past, but Trumps put a different name and spin to it" this time, said Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster in Oklahoma.As we become more self-selective with the media we consume, people find like-minded people in different social media channels and they think theyre in greater numbers than they are and feel they have an opportunity," he said. In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a two-term incumbent, has drawn several GOP challengers, including the owner of a gun range that drew national attention for banning Muslims. Another is a former Arkansas Razorbacks football player whose campaign kickoff ad shows him firing an assault rifle and complaining that Democrats in Washington have been taken over by radical socialists." Boozman's opponents have criticized him for certifying the presidential election results. He may also draw fire because he is unusually mild-mannered for such a highly charged time. While he has historically focused on the state's agriculture industry and services for veterans, he now frequently mentions Trump in his campaign emails and even offered tickets to a Trump rally.Republican officials in Idaho would usually be considered among the farthest right in the nation, but they, too, are under pressure. Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has announced plans to challenge incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little in 2022, and Bundy's People's Rights organization has been among those staging mask-burning rallies to protest coronavirus restrictions. The anti-incumbent exposure can even be seen in lower state-level races in blue states. In one of Virginias most solidly red state House districts, an attorney who worked on the Trump campaigns challenges defeated a seven-term incumbent in a June primary.I saw firsthand what happens when election integrity isnt maintained, challenger Wren Williams said in a campaign ad. Williams criticized Del. Charles Poindexter for failing to speak out against alleged voter fraud and defeated him by more than 25 points.In Oklahoma, Lankford was jarred by the party chairman's endorsement of his opponent, which he said was an unheard of" breach of traditional party neutrality. In response, hes quickly ramped up his criticism of Biden, hammering the president in particular on immigration.This is the problem, Lankford said in a recent video from the Texas-Mexico border with immigrants being processed behind him. This is the thing that Biden does not want you to see ... this is absolutely an open border situation.In the current political climate, it's hard for a Republican official to be safely conservative enough, said Abramowitz.You look at Sen. Lankford, there arent many Republican senators as conservative as him.___Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Related video: Arkansas governor ponders future in post-Trump GOP

Republican U.S. Sen. James Lankford would seem to have all the conservative credentials he'd need to coast to re-election in deep-red Oklahoma.

A devout Baptist, Lankford was the director of the nations largest Christian youth camp for more than a decade. He speaks out regularly against abortion and what he describes as excessive government spending. And his voting record in the Senate aligned with former President Donald Trumps position nearly 90% of the time.

But like several other seemingly safe GOP incumbents, Lankford, who didn't even draw a primary opponent in 2016, finds himself under fierce attack by a challenger in his own party. The antagonist is a 29-year-old evangelical minister and political newcomer who managed to draw more than 2,000 people to a Freedom Rally" headlined by Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, at which Lankford was accused of being not conservative enough.

When James (Lankford) certified the big lie, he joined the big lie," Jackson Lahmeyer told the raucous crowd in Norman, citing Lankford's failure to endorse Trump's false claims about the election outcome. The 2020 presidential election that was a stolen election and we will never, ever allow it to happen again. The state's GOP chairman, John Bennett, has already endorsed Lahmeyer in the race.

Similar scenes are playing out in other red states where ultra right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump's election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. Some incumbents suddenly are scrambling to defend their right flank, heating up their own rhetoric on social media and ripping into President Joe Biden at every opportunity.

In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border.

AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

I think its unquestionably attributable to the aftermath of the 2020 election and the insurrection and former President Trumps claims of voter fraud, said Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

Some conservative incumbents are obvious targets for right-wing challenges notably U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney in Wyoming and Anthony Gonzalez in Ohio who voted to impeach Trump. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's offense was refusing to block Georgia's electoral votes from being awarded to Biden.

But with the 2022 election cycle approaching, the backlash is also touching even those who backed Trump consistently through countless controversies. Texas' Abbott echoed Trump's partisan positions and has banked $55 million in campaign funds, more than any sitting governor in history.

But he's drawn a challenge from Allen West, who until recently was the chairman of the Texas GOP. West, a tea party firebrand and former Florida congressman, has attacked Abbott's leadership after Democrats temporarily thwarted a GOP voting bill by decamping to Washington.

And he can draw a crowd. Last year, West led a boisterous rally outside the governors mansion to demand an end to coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

We cannot sit around and continue to do nothing, West told supporters in South Texas during one of his first campaign stops.

Actually winning a primary is probably more than many challengers, including West, can expect. But they can succeed in pushing the party farther to the right while also raising their own profiles as public figures.

Republican officeholders have faced challenges from the right in the past, but Trumps put a different name and spin to it" this time, said Pat McFerron, a Republican strategist and pollster in Oklahoma.

As we become more self-selective with the media we consume, people find like-minded people in different social media channels and they think theyre in greater numbers than they are and feel they have an opportunity," he said.

In Arkansas, Republican U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a two-term incumbent, has drawn several GOP challengers, including the owner of a gun range that drew national attention for banning Muslims. Another is a former Arkansas Razorbacks football player whose campaign kickoff ad shows him firing an assault rifle and complaining that Democrats in Washington have been taken over by radical socialists."

Boozman's opponents have criticized him for certifying the presidential election results. He may also draw fire because he is unusually mild-mannered for such a highly charged time. While he has historically focused on the state's agriculture industry and services for veterans, he now frequently mentions Trump in his campaign emails and even offered tickets to a Trump rally.

Republican officials in Idaho would usually be considered among the farthest right in the nation, but they, too, are under pressure. Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy has announced plans to challenge incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little in 2022, and Bundy's People's Rights organization has been among those staging mask-burning rallies to protest coronavirus restrictions.

The anti-incumbent exposure can even be seen in lower state-level races in blue states. In one of Virginias most solidly red state House districts, an attorney who worked on the Trump campaigns challenges defeated a seven-term incumbent in a June primary.

I saw firsthand what happens when election integrity isnt maintained, challenger Wren Williams said in a campaign ad. Williams criticized Del. Charles Poindexter for failing to speak out against alleged voter fraud and defeated him by more than 25 points.

In Oklahoma, Lankford was jarred by the party chairman's endorsement of his opponent, which he said was an unheard of" breach of traditional party neutrality.

In response, hes quickly ramped up his criticism of Biden, hammering the president in particular on immigration.

This is the problem, Lankford said in a recent video from the Texas-Mexico border with immigrants being processed behind him. This is the thing that Biden does not want you to see ... this is absolutely an open border situation.

In the current political climate, it's hard for a Republican official to be safely conservative enough, said Abramowitz.

You look at Sen. Lankford, there arent many Republican senators as conservative as him.

___

Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Jeff Amy in Atlanta; Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, and Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Continued here:
These seemingly safe GOP incumbents are now facing challenges from the party's right wing - WDSU New Orleans

GREENVILLE Members of Concerned Citizens of Eastern North Carolina are voicing their concerns about critical race theory and how to keep it from being taught in schools.

About 30 people attended a July 6 meeting of the group, formerly the Eastern North Carolina Tea Party, to discuss CRT, which critics say is being incorporated into the states new social studies standard course of study.

We have to think about the adverse effect of this kind of indoctrination, brain-washing, member Elizabeth Weidner said. Theyre taking this down to children that are kindergartners all the way through 12th grade.

Critical race theory, a movement that suggests the law and legal institutions in the United States are inherently racist, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, was introduced by legal scholars in the 1980s. But it has recently become the topic of debate and discussion across the country.

The Pitt County Board of Education had discussions about CRT twice last month, although Pitt County Schools says the theory is not included in the districts curriculum. North Carolina is among several states that have introduced legislation (House Bill 324) to ban the teaching of critical race theory.

John Woodard, chief executive officer of Real American News, told members of the Concerned Citizens group that he was stunned at what he learned when researching CRT for his website.

These people are trying to break the American society down and pit group against group, white against black, male against female children against parents, he said.

Concerned Citizens member Diane Rufino said CRT is being taught in some school districts despite objections of parents.

The insidious nature of CRT is the fact that teachers are taking the place of the parents, Rufino, an attorney and blogger said. Once the kids are in school, theyre away from the parents, separated from family values, parental rights. Teachers have the ultimate say in what was taught to the kids.

Her comments came the same day The Associated Press reported the American Federation of Teachers is preparing litigation and a legal defense against those who try to limit lessons on racism.

Concerned Citizens member Kenneth Jones said parents deserve a say in what is being taught to their children.

Im old school. Im sorry. Im used to parents and teachers working together, he said. Whats going on?

Jones said that while racism exists, he does not believe that teaching critical race theory is educating students.

Its indoctrinating them, he said. We should be very angry about it. Push back. What parents need to do is have school choice or get out of the system or get rid of the system.

Sandy Smith, who ran in 2020 to represent North Carolinas 1st Congressional District, told fellow members that there are educators who do not support teaching critical race theory in schools.

There are great teachers that are being forced to teach this in our school systems, she said. I get phone calls and letters from them all the time. Theyre fearful for their jobs.

We need to keep that in mind that we are not only fighting for our children, were also fighting for our silent teachers that are not able to speak out.

Woodard, who launched Real American News in 2020 after five decades in the insurance industry, called critical race theory a Marxist, Leninist method and said terms like systemic racism reinforce discrimination, stereotypes and scapegoating.

It is a policy that teaches that whites have been and continue to be oppressors and blacks continue to be victims, he said. This scares everybody when they finally wake up and realize their children are being force-fed this garbage.

Woodard praised the efforts of Sloan Rachmuth, president of Education First Alliance, a conservative, North Carolina-based students rights advocacy group. Rachmuth, whose organization opposes schools promoting critical race theory, spoke in May to an audience of about 40 people attending Strong Parent Bootcamp at Homeplace of Ayden.

Shes really the one who ought to be here, telling you all this, Woodard said. Im 76 years old. Ive been in politics all my life, practically. I believe that if we dont get up and fight then were going to lose our children and our society.

Others offered comments that echoed Woodards sense of urgency.

This is not politics as usual, Well get them next time if we lose this election, said Michael Karachun. Were almost out of time. Youd better take this very, very seriously.

Jones, a pastor, described the battle over what should be taught to children as a spiritual one and said the church should be involved.

Weve been so busy saying Oh, we cant get into politics, he said.

When I was raised back in the 50s, the fact is that you had to come to the church in order to run for office. Today we need true men and women who are grounded and rooted in the Judaeo-Christian (beliefs) because without God we have no country.

William Cratch, a contributor and writer for the website Beaufort County Now, told Concerned Citizens that critical race theory has no scientific basis.

Theres no math. Theres no logical evidence to back up what theyre saying, he said.CRT is nothing new and it is nothing more than modern-day eugenics.

Cratch urged Concerned Citizens to become involved in politics at the local level in order to stand against the teaching of CRT.

Are we going to sit back and let our children or anybody else be indoctrinated by the stuff of the occult, Nazism and pure evil? We are standing on a precipice in more ways than one.

More here:
Former Tea Party group speaks out against teaching of critical race theory - The Daily Advance

Senator Bob Corker had just gotten out of a hot-yoga session with his wife on a Sunday morning in 2017 when his phone started blowing up. President Donald Trump was tweeting about him, falsely claiming that the Tennessee Republican supported the Iran deal (he did not) and that he had begged Trump for a reelection endorsement (Corker says he never did such a thing). I got to my house, and I was dripping wet, standing in my closet, getting undressed to go jump in the shower, Corker told me recently from his office in Chattanooga. He typed out a response: Its a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning. Corker sent it to a couple members of his staffNo public officials should ever send their own tweets, he sayswhom he expected to talk him down. No, its too good, they told him. Were going to let it go. The comment has now been retweeted nearly 148,000 times.

Corkers tweet seemed to resonate because it stated plainly something that few Republicans were willing to say out loud at the time: The country was being run by someone who regularly broadcasted false information, seemingly without forethought or input from his staff. But Corker, who left office in 2019, gets frustrated by the focus on this kind of dramatic episode. I spend not one second of my day thinking about any of those things. Okay? Not one second, he said. Its such an irrelevant part of our life.

Still, he is also starting to recognize that his legacy as a United States senatorand as mayor of Chattanooga, where he got his start in elective officewas defined not just by the legislation he passed or his work as the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee but by his willingness to call out racism and moral failings in his own party. Corker still believes in what he sees as the core mission of the Republican Party: to promote free enterprise, fight for equal opportunity for everyone, and protect citizens safety. But its not clear where a person like him fits in todays version of the GOP. In 2020, Corker didnt vote for Trump, but he also couldnt bring himself to support Joe Biden. He cast his ballot for a Republican senator who, Corker believes, has no desire to be president. (He wouldnt say which oneeven his wife doesnt know.) That ethos is hard to find in Washington, but Corker still believes its worth pursuing.

Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Emma Green: Lets start with some ancient history. In 2006, you were running for Senate, and the Republican National Committee financed an infamous ad about your opponent, Harold Ford Jr. (The ad showed fake man on the streetstyle interviews, including one with a scantily dressed white woman who declares, I met Harold at the Playboy party!) At the time, you said, We dont want this. We want it pulled, and it was gone in a few days.

The ad seems to be an early sign of where the Republican Party might have been headed. Were there elements at that time in the national leadership of the party who might have been thinking, How do we mobilize against the Black opponent of the white front-runner in Tennessee?

Bob Corker: Youre maybe overthinking what actually happened. Probably the type of person who thought up that ad was some political operative or some pollster. Matter of fact, I had very tough conversations with the entity that ran that ad.

Green: What were those conversations like?

Corker: Oh, it just cratered us. We were at plus-six in the race, and it took us to minus-four over seven days. The ad came out on a Friday night, and it ran throughout the weekend, but you cant pull it down. And we couldnt talk directly with the RNC, because it was illegal. The ad was constantly on the airWolf Blitzer and Chris Matthews. Every outlet in the country was talking about it.

And it painted me. I mean, how did I evolve to the public arena? I saw that we had poverty in our inner city and people who werent able to live in decent housing. I led the creation of a nonprofit that helped 10,000 people here in our community have decent, fit, and affordable housing. Predominantly, they were African Americans. That was my history. So I come to this race. People didnt differentiate between me and the RNC. They did so much damage to us and hurt me personally. People who didnt know me thought I was a part of that.

Green: Was your criticism that the ad was strategically unwise? Or was there a bigger-picture conversation about, Who are we as a party, and what kind of message are we trying to send?

Corker: When youre 30 days or three weeks away from a nationalized election, youre not thinking at that moment about what this says about us as a party. Youre livid over what people have done to you in the election in the name of helping you.

Ill fast-forward to an event that, to me, is more indicative. When I ran for Senate in 2006, we had a Democratic governor, and the election was very close. We were a mixed state. West Tennessee was Democratic. Look at what happened when President Obama was elected. Look at west Tennessee today. To me, thats a little more indicative of how race possibly affected the state of Tennessee.

Green: Say a little bit more about that. You felt, even at the time when President Obama was running in 2008, that there might be political changes happening?

Corker: We were in the height of a financial-system breakdown. I was highly involved, as a young senator, in shaping the future of the automobile industry. So, no, Im not thinking about that at the time. What Im reflecting upon is that by 2010, Tennessee had become a solidly red state. Obviously, people in our state railed against President Obamas policies and health-care bill. But there was certainly a turn in our state to bright red from being purple just a few years earlier.

Can I say that race had nothing to do with that? I dont think that I can.

Green: In the period youre pointing to2008, 2010, the Tea Party surgethere was a turn within the Republican base. At the time, did you look around and say, Theres something going on in my party?

Corker: I mean, obviously, I was very aware. During the Tea Party period of time, I did 66 town-hall meetings across our state. I remember walking into the Loudon High School auditorium. Town-hall meetings typically are not particularly interesting. But there were over a thousand people there with placards. They were angryat Republicans, too. I was very concerned about where we were going fiscally as a nation, but I was unaligned with them because I was from Washington, and I didnt say the red-meat things because I dont believe them. Ive never been able to say those kinds of things. I cannot bash the other side of the aisle. Ive just never been able to bash a Democrat because theyre a Democrat.

The Tea Partythey liked me. They didnt love me.

Read: The evangelical politician who doesnt recognize his faithor his party

Green: When you first saw candidate Trump coming onto the scene a few years later, it seems like you thought, Okay, theres something here that could be potentially useful and productive.

Youre shaking your head.

Corker: There were other candidates I preferred who washed out. I was just amazed at it. But Ive always attempted to be constructive. I remember watching a foreign-policy speech that Trump gave. It was okay. What I tried to do, especially being chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, was to take a few sentences of what he said and applaud those and try to build on thosealmost leave a trail to a better place. Not to flatter him or get in his good graces. But, hopefully, I would be one of the few people saying something positive at that time, and he would read that and think, Yeah, yeah. Sure enough, he called right after that, thanking me for saying something positive.

Green: You talk about the rally in Charlottesville as a defining moment. What were you thinking as you were watching that on television and the press conference that happened afterwards?

Corker: I took a few days to take in everything that happened. I think the rally was on a Saturday. Tuesday at Trump Tower, the president made the comments that he made. I knew I was going to be here in Chattanooga on Thursday, in my hometown.

I got a call early one morning from someone at the White House. I was a recipient of calls from a number of peoplealmost like they were standing in a coat closet in the White House: Corker. You cannot believe what has happened. I received a call from someone well known, probably about 6 a.m. Everybody knows I get up early.

I knew what I was going to do. I thought through the words I was going to use very carefully. I used the words not yet: The president has not yet demonstrated That gives this person the ability to become something different than they were at that time.

Green: In retrospect, we can all recognize that Charlottesville was a turning point in the Trump presidency. But what was it about that moment that made you think, I have to say something?

Corker: I was mayor of a city. I spent my time dealing with issues in our inner city. These were my friends, my fellow citizens, my constituents, the people that I worked with on a daily basis. To have a person who was blatantly dog-whistling to white supremacists was totally unacceptable. Something needed to be said. Not in a way that was a personal attack but to focus on the fact that this person was not rising to the occasion as a president.

Green: In the days leading up to January 6, the two senators from Tennessee were part of the effort to challenge the certification of the Electoral College results. One of those people was your replacement. Did you call them up and say, This is not how we do this?

Corker: I made a statement. I go out of my way to not ever name people. I just dont think thats constructive. But we know from other quarters that it stung. I served for 12 years in the Senate, a year and a half as commissioner of finance, and four years as mayor. I know how receiving calls like that is. Ive tried to not be one of those people. Theyre the senators now, and I am not.

Green: What do you imagine your work ahead will be? Where will your labors be most valuable?

Corker: Ive got a lot of energizing, fun things going in business. But I know, down in here [Points to his chest.], that while I will always continue to love the world of business, there will be some missional thing that will evolve as a part of my life. I dont know what that is yet, but I just know what my DNA is. Its been that way since I was in my late 20s. Ive had the greatest privilege of my life serving publicly. The most rewarding period of time was being mayor of a city, where you touch people in a real way.

Ive earned the right for a period of time to be in this state that Im at. Ive got the freedom to be uncluttered, mind-wise, with all these things that youre talking about.

Read: Eric Metaxas believes America is creeping toward Nazi Germany

Green: I want to ask you about something thats actually more local, and perhaps more symbolic. The once-defunct Walnut Street Bridge, which is now a vibrant pedestrian pathway, is a beautiful symbol of Chattanoogas future. Its also where the Ed Johnson lynching memorial has been built. To me, this really captures the challenge ahead for the city: to thrive and grow and attract people to live here, but also to talk more openly about the history of this place, where lynchings occurred.

This is a really big struggle in the country right nowfiguring out how to work optimistically toward the future, but also to be more open and honest about our past. I think people in your party have struggled with this. What I want to know from you is: Whats the right way forward in this hard moment?

Corker: Just as it relates to the memorial, my wife and I contributed to it. I read about it in the paper, and I signed a check the next day. Thats something that we, as a family, support.

Neither party is addressing the race issue in a manner that represents the greatness of our nation. I think the Democratic Party is doing as much damageor moreon the issue of race today than even some of these subtle but real undertones in the Republican Party that youre speaking of. We should be doing everything we can to give every student of every race and every young person every opportunity possible. But then to say, Were not going to do everything we can to have equal opportunity. Were going to have equal outcomesall that does is exacerbate it, and then youve got white people who feel disenfranchised.

I cant believe whats happening in Atlanta right now. I cannot believe the total lack of concern for allowing the crime issue to be what it is. I dont understand whats happening with these big-city mayors, how they would disrespect their citizenry so much that they would let crime be rampant.

Generally speaking, Black people in our country somehow have had lesser opportunity. Thats what we ought to be focusing on, because thats the future. Thats solving a problem. Thats taking us someplace. Should we be aware of our past? Yes, we should be aware of our past. But some of the things that are happening right now today are not benefiting racial equality. Theyre actually taking us down a hole that leads to a place that is not constructive.

View post:
Bob Corker on the Future of the Republican Party - The Atlantic

Martin Fey| For The Bulletin

With the traditionally slow summer news cycle upon us, the dust from the controversial 2020 federal election receding in the rearview mirror, and an evenly divided Senate stymying the Democrats dream of Biden administration accomplishments rivalling Franklin Roosevelts New Deal, its time to bring out the political crystal ball and make some 2022 mid-term predictions.

So, for what its worth, heres the vision: If the Democrats dont seriously trim their planned $6 trillion spending spree, and back away from political and ideological positions that the vast majority of Americans instinctively reject, they will lose control of both House and Senate. It will be 2010 all over again, and Bidens term will end by circling the drain for two years until it is flushed for good in 2024.

To start, the GOP has history on its side. The party in the White House typically loses 27 House seats in the midterms, and in 2020 Republicans unexpectedly pulled to within eight seats of the majority. Along with that momentum, the next election will follow redistricting in key states including Texas, North Carolina and Florida, where Republican-controlled legislatures will have redrawn the lines of crucial House districts. It is highly likely that, even without Democrat overreach, Nancy Pelosi will again be handing over the speakers gavel.

Democrats are also defending 23 seats in the Senate this time around, while Republicans only have to worry about 10, almost all of them in red states.

Potential losses for Democrats include Sen Raphael Warnock in traditionally red Georgia. He won a partial term in the January runoff by only 2 points, attributable in part to the negative press given Trumps allegations of Georgia votefraud. Georgia voters are now more upset about the economic impact of Democrat-encouraged boycotts of the state as retaliation for very unremarkable legislative changes in the states voting laws that Biden called Jim Crow 2.0. A solid majority of US voters see voter ID requirements for polls and absentee ballots as a good thing, recognizing that to do otherwise undermines faith in our democratic system.

Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly also won his first term in November by just 2 points and is considered vulnerable if Republicans pick the right candidate, and Nevadas Senate newbie, Catherine Cortez Masto, may face a formidable foe in Republican State Attorney General Adam Laxalt. In New Hampshire, first-term senator Maggie Hassan is likely to face the scion of a formidable Republican family, Gov. Chris Sununu.

If Republicans hold onto what they have and manage to tip even one senate seat, Biden must either go bi-partisan or go home.

Without the great Satan Donald Trump on the 2022 ballot to motivate the Democrat base, there will be no leftist rallying point. Republican voters, many still fuming over Trumps loss, are already aching for revenge. Without Trump as a whipping boy, the Democrats will be judged on not only what they did but also on what they intended to do.

Independent voters, who decide elections, are mostly center-right. Todays Democrats are speaking the language of the left -- Critical Race Theory, reparations, defunding police departments, a porous southern border, downplaying sharply rising urban shootings and murders, and promoting cancel culture, especially the demotion and denigration of American heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. Americans of all colors are recoiling from the racist notion, promoted by Democrat support groups like BLM, that whiteness is an original sin that cant be cured, and that Whites are intrinsically oppressors.

But the fatal mistake Democrats are making is unprecedented spending plans that would push the national debt over with the $30 trillion mark. Concern over government spending led to the Tea Party movement and cost Democrats 60 seats and control of the House in the 2010 midterms, and that spending was insignificant by todays standards. Most voters, many of whom lived through the rampant inflation of the 1970s, know Democrats cant suspend the economic law of supply and demand. Annual inflation, which was near zero for years, is now near 6 percent and headed higher. When the current federal cornucopia is finally eaten up by the tax we call inflation, they will know who to blame.

Martin Fey is a member of the Quiet Corner tea Party Patriots.

Originally posted here:
View from the right: Democrats' push for progressive change will hurt them in the mid-terms - Norwich Bulletin

When it comes to abandoned things at Disney Parks, there definitely are a few.

From abandoned ideas to fully abandoned theme parks such as Disneys River Country at Disney World, there is a lot to dig into. Although many may associate Japanese Disney Parks with Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, another theme park was meant to become a Disney Park and when then left to rot.

Nara Dreamland opened in 1961 with a heavy Disneyland influence. The park hoped to become a Disney Park after Kunizo Matsuo, a Japanese businessman & president of the Matsuo Entertainment Company, met with Walt Disney to discuss the attraction. Things were going well during the parks development in terms of creating the park in the eye of Disney; however, Walt and Matsuo would then disagree over the license fees for using the Disney characters, which put an end to the idea of Nara Dreamland becoming a Disney Park.

Nara Dreamland stood looking like Disneyland; however, the park would have no affiliation with the park and company. When Guests would enter Nara Dreamland, it was easy to see where the Disney resemblance was held. The park also had a castle as the weenie (as Walt liked to call it), which looked very similar to Sleeping Beauty Castle. The theme park would also have its own version of a Main Street, a Mad Tea Party-Esque ride, a Jungle Cruise-style boat ride, and a Matterhorn-like attraction.

Take a look at the abandoned state of the park after it closed on naradreamlandthemeparks (@naradreamlandthemepark) Instagram.

Shalanski (@shalanski) posted a photo in front of the Nara Dreamland abandoned castle. The area would have been closed off to Guests when this photo was taken.

One of the best days in Japan so far; snuck into and explored the abandoned Nara Dreamland. No Disney theme park will ever amount.

Below is the Mad Tea Party replica attraction posted by Steve (@steveronin).

Nara Dreamland Japan

The theme park remained open for 45 years, but Nara Dreamland suffered greatly when Tokyo Disneyland was built. Attendance dramatically dropped at the theme park as Guests favored the new Disney-affiliated park over Nara Dreamland. In 2006, the theme park closed its doors for good, and not much was done after. The park would be left to decay for 10 years until 2016, when demolition would finally begin.

What do you think about Nara Dreamland? Let us know in the comments below!

See more here:
This Abandoned Theme Park Was Meant to Be a Disney Park Inside the Magic - Inside the Magic