Republicans

You may recall this story providing days of mirth here on JMG way back in 2015. Lansing’s Fox News affiliate reports: A former Michigan lawmaker pleaded no contest Wednesday to a misdemeanor stemming from charges filed over a bizarre plot to hide his extramarital affair with another legislator. Todd Courser, a 47-year-old Republican from Silverwood who resigned from the state …

Salon reports: During an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) claimed he has every intention of calling in former President Barack Obama and grilling him on what he knows about the FBI’s investigation of Donald Trump. Speaking with the Fox News host, the Republican senator claimed he is pushing forward with his …

The Montgomery Advertiser reports: Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday issued an apology for appearing in a racist sketch during her time as an undergraduate at Auburn University in the 1960s. Audio surfaced of a 1967 interview given by Ivey and her then-fiancee, Ben LaRavia, in which LaRavia recalled a party at Auburn’s Baptist Student Union. Ivey participated in at least …

San Diego’s Fox affiliate reports: Former Rep. Darrell Issa has launched an exploratory committee for California’s 50th Congressional District, a seat currently held by embattled Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine. “I have received such a tremendous outpouring of encouragement from supporters inside the district, and around the state and across the Nation. I’m truly grateful for the many encouraging phone calls, …

Reuters reports: Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said Wednesday that he will resign at the end of 2019, citing health problems. Isakson, who was reelected to a third term in 2016, said in a statement that he has informed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) of his decision, effective Dec. 31. “I am leaving a job I love because my health challenges …

Mediaite reports: While speaking about China’s latest efforts to implement a social credit system, the congressman eventually diverted to talk about how the country treats Muslims. As he noted that a “million” Muslims are being put into camps, having their children taken away and the women undergoing forced sterilization, King eventually chuckled after saying that Muslims are being forced to …

Sen. Tom Cotton writes for the New York Times: After news leaked last week that President Trump had expressed interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark, his critics predictably derided him as crazy. But once again, the president is crazy like a fox. The acquisition of Greenland would secure vital strategic interests for the United States, economically benefit both us and …

From GOP Rep. Sean Duffy’s Facebook page: Next to marrying Rachel, representing you – the people and families of Wisconsin’s 7th District – in Congress has been the highest honor of my life. Together, we have engaged in the most important battles of our time: protecting freedom of speech and religious liberty, taking care of our veterans, defending the unborn, …

Mediaite reports: Stephanopoulos asked Walsh about whether the he thought the 25th Amendment — which allows the removal of a president for incapacity — should be invoked. “It should be looked at,” Walsh replied. “We’ve never had a situation like this. You can’t believe a word he says. And again, I don’t care your politics, that should concern you.” “He’s …

The Washington Post reports: Joe Walsh, a former Illinois congressman, says he’ll challenge President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020. The tea party favorite argues that Trump is unfit for the White House. Walsh announced his candidacy during an interview on ABC’s “This Week’” on Sunday. Also in the race is Bill Weld, a former Massachusetts governor. Walsh …

Salon reports: Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, held a “No Exception to Life” press conference on Friday, where he again offered a passionate defense of his belief that abortion should be prohibited after the detection of a fetal heartbeat — even in cases of rape and incest. Speaking at a Holiday Inn in Des Moines, Iowa, his home state, the lawmaker …

From the right wing Yellowhammer News: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is no friend of the Alabama Republican Party. That was the takeaway on Saturday at the ALGOP’s summer meeting hosted on the Plains in Lee County after the body passed a resolution introduced by State Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Bryant) calling for Alabama’s congressional delegation to seek the expulsion of …

Axios reports: There is no U.S. law that prevents candidates, parties or political groups from launching their own disinformation campaigns, either in-house or through a contractor, so long as foreign money isn’t involved. It’s up to individual candidates to decide their tolerance for the practice. Broadly, U.S. campaign finance laws don’t regulate free social media accounts. Even a vast network …

Politico reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday issued a forceful defense of the legislative filibuster, the Senate’s 60-vote threshold that Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates have expressed a new willingness to abolish. “The legislative filibuster is directly downstream from our founding tradition. If that tradition frustrates the whims of those on the far left, it is their half-baked …

Talk Politics reports: Months before President Donald Trump expressed an interest in buying Greenland, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said he suggested the idea to the President and met with the Danish ambassador to propose the sale of the large land mass to the U.S. Speaking Wednesday (Aug. 21) at the inaugural Talk Business & Politics Power Lunch at the …

Politico reports: For President Donald Trump, Minnesota is the one that got away in 2016. Now he’s fixated on flipping the state in 2020 — with the help of a provocative ex-radio host whose rantings earned him the nickname “mini-Trump.” Former GOP Rep. Jason Lewis is expected to launch his Minnesota Senate bid on Thursday with guidance from two of …

ABC News reports: Nearly a year after her husband’s death, Cindy McCain said the current Republican Party is “not the party of Abraham Lincoln, nor the party of Ronald Reagan.” McCain added that her husband “never did anything deliberately to be hurtful or anything. I don’t see anybody carrying that mantle at all, I don’t see anyone carrying the voice …

WNYC reports: Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who built a political brand around unfiltered frank talk aimed at political opponents and constituents alike, is starting a think tank centered on something unexpected: Civility in politics. “Unfortunately our politics have gotten so ugly and divisive in the country that people are not having civilized conversations,” Christie told NJ …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) is demanding an apology from the media and Republican leaders after he remarked last week that humanity might not exist if not for rape and incest. At a town hall in Buena Vista County, Iowa, on Saturday, King blamed the controversy on a misquote. He took aim at the Des Moines Register, …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Congressional Republicans recently circulated talking points on gun violence that falsely described the El Paso massacre and other mass shootings as “violence from the left.” A document obtained by the Tampa Bay Times and sent by House Republicans provides a framework for how to respond to anticipated questions like, “Why won’t you pass legislation to …