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Superstar Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin discusses January 6 insurrection

Written on April 21, 2022 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Democratic vs. Republican Presidents

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin

Last night, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland’s 8th Congressional District appeared on a monthly national call by the advocacy group American Promise. Raskin, former law professor at American University, wrote the book Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy about the extraordinary events after his 2020 re-election to Congress. On December 31, 2020 Raskin lost his son to suicide. One week later, Raskin witnessed the January 6, 2021 Republican terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol while Congress was trying to complete the Electoral College vote count to certify the election victory of President Joe Biden. Rep. Raskin is now a member of the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. Raskin was also Lead counsel for Donald Trump‘s second impeachment trial for inciting what Raskin calls the January 6 “coup.”

Here are some highlights from the call with Rep. Raskin:

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Tags: 2020 Election, climate change, Congress, Critical Race Theory, Democrats, Donald Trump, education, Electoral College, Fascism, impeachment, Jamie Raskin, January 6, President Joe Biden, Republicans, U.S. Capitol, U.S. Constitution

After Virginia elections, Democrats should treat Republicans like their crazy aunt

Written on November 4, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Media Watch, Republican Messaging

Democrats might treat Republicans this way

On Tuesday night, Glenn Youngkin defeated Terry McAuliffe to become the Virginia Governor-elect. While the race was very close (just over a two percent margin), by most accounts, McAuliffe ran a poor campaign. In particular, Youngkin raised right wing conspiracy theories regarding schools (so-called Critical Race Theory, imaginary Trans bathroom worries, etc.), and McAuliffe failed to bat them down or talk forcefully about his own agenda. Instead, McAuliffe focused on how he isn’t Donald Trump, someone who does not even hold elective office at this time, and that Youngkin is merely a Trump stand-in. It didn’t help McAuliffe that the mainstream media elevated Youngkin’s conspiracy theories as if they were serious subjects, which automatically turned them into meaningful political issues.

The Virginia Gubernatorial election is in many ways a precursor to the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential election. It’s virtually guaranteed that Republicans will continue to toss out false, nutty or obscure Culture War conspiracy theories, and that the media will lap them up. Remember the Caravan? Fast N Furious? How about flag burning? PizzaGate? Jewish space lasers? The list of these made-up Republican shiny object distractions is endless.

With the election loss in Virginia (including not just Governor but Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General and possibly the House of Delegates)Democrats have now received their wake-up call. The Democrats can no longer afford to laugh with each other over their wine or beer about those crazy Republicans and their loonie conspiracy theories.

The big question going forward is: how will Democrats deal with these conspiratorial, election-winning Republicans?

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Tags: 2022 elections, 2024 elections, Critical Race Theory, Donald Trump, Governor election, Terry McAuliffe, Virginia

The story is COVID. Drive the story.

Written on July 28, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Republican Messaging

Everyone should be masking in public

If you subscribe to the right news services or social media accounts and look through the headlines, you will find out that right now, America and the world are facing a new COVID emergency. The problem, largely based on the “Delta variant,” is bad enough that organizations from the California State University System to the Washington Post are starting to require proof of COVID vaccination for those who show up in person, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) announced Monday that it would mandate coronavirus vaccines for its front-line workers. Likewise, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) just announced that all people, including those fully vaccinated, should wear masks indoors again in areas with “high” or “substantial” COVID transmission.

However, U.S. Republicans, whose anti-vaccine, anti-mask diatribes and protests are largely responsible for the new COVID emergency, don’t want to talk about the new COVID surge (except, cynically, to try to blame President Joe Biden, who has made extraordinary strides and numerous public calls for full vaccination). Rather, Republicans want to distract by cosplaying about immigration, attacking the imaginary “Critical Race Theory,” fretting about trans people and their bathroom use, or just about anything else that is part of their 24/7 Culture War.

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Tags: 2022 elections, 2024 elections, Ashley Moody, Coronavirus, COVID, COVID-19, Critical Race Theory, culture war, Delta Variant, Democrats, Florida, immigration, LBGTQ, President Joe Biden, Republicans, Ron DeSantis, Texas, vaccination, vaccine

Watch the Republicans’ language vs. President Biden’s

Written on June 28, 2021 by Messaging Matters in Democratic Messaging, Fox "News" Watch, Republican Messaging

The Republicans’ 2021 political strategy

The Republicans’ Culture War is in high gear. That means Republicans attacking their favorite bogeymen. Here are some of the things Republicans have been saying lately, instead of helping to govern our country:

—“Antifa” (to the extent that’s even a real thing) and Black Lives Matter were responsible for the January 6, 2021 domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capital, even though the FBI keeps rounding up one right wing extremist after another for the attack, many of whom were caught red-handed on video. Not surprisingly, Republicans are now attacking the FBI.

–Companies and others are destroying the country by acting “woke,” a substitute for the older “politically incorrect,” and meant to be a disparagement of perceived liberalism.

–Similarly, according to Republicans, liberals (especially in the media) are guilty of “cancel culture,” which seems to mean doing things like suspending Donald Trump from Twitter and Facebook for inciting violence in the January 6 attacks. Apparently, however, Republicans have no problem canceling things and people they don’t like, such as stripping Congresswoman Liz Cheney of her House leadership post for criticizing Trump, defunding ACORN and Planned Parenthood, or, as Trump recently suggested, banning Twitter and Facebook altogether.

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Tags: ACORN, American Jobs Plan, Antifa, Congress, COVID, Critical Race Theory, Democrats, Donald Trump, FBI, Fox News, Liz Cheney, Mark Milley, Planned Parenthood, President Joe Biden, Republicans, Tucker Carlson, woke