Igniting Voter Suppression fuse nationwide by flipping position...what changed?

 

I have receipts. Republicans were arguing there was no need to IDs to vote absentee on the front page of the Atlanta Journal Constitution (@AJC) on August 2, 2005https://t.co/qsD4kbqXnq pic.twitter.com/uYkECYPgtm

— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) March 27, 2021

Jennifer Ruben: It was a blunder, a gratuitous act that revealed not only their animus toward democracy but their lack of simple human decency. The Georgia bill threw in a provision to ban anyone from giving water or snacks to people standing in line to vote. It was a political error born of Republicans’ own arrogance and inhumanity. And it may cost them greatly in the battle over voting rights. President Biden declared, “It’s sick. It’s sick. You don’t need anything else to know that this is nothing but punitive designed to keep people from voting. You can’t provide water for people about to vote? Give me a break.”

The water provision is mean-spirited and blatantly punitive, instantly recognizable as a Jim Crow tactic designed to make people miserable. In the effort to show the law has nothing to do with voting security, Exhibit A may be the water provision. 

Texas Federal Judge who found ACA unconstitutional, about to ban all Preventive Care Coverage nationwide!

None of what you're about to read would be a problem if we had universal health care. 

I sat around for about 4 hours Saturday stunned by what appears to a done deal: A judge is about to do away with health cares preventive services, like "cancer screenings, contraception, HIV prevention drugs, vaccines, tobacco cessation treatment, alcohol abuse counseling and domestic violence counseling."

Religious and free-market objections to the ACA requirement: This is scary stuff, it could happen, and it's huge: 

In Texas, a federal judge seems open to ending the requirement that most Americans must receive preventive services like mammograms free of charge. Based on U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s Feb. 25 order, it appears likely he will rule in favor of the plaintiffs

But wait, preventive services aren't free and never have been. People pay $300 to $1000 a month for insurance that pays for those preventive services, so it's not free, and our premiums were never meant to be nothing but corporate PROFIT. So the lawsuit should be tossed just on that point alone.

After Dismantling Public Emergency Health Laws, Disease Prevention is Next: The media seems to have missed the complete destruction of public health laws, setting us up for a massive crisis yet to come. So, preventive care is "unconstitutional?" As jaw dropping and cruel as anything I've ever seen, here's the case in a nutshell for dismantling our health care social safety net:

Plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality of “preventive-care coverage” required under section 300gg-13 because it is unwanted, unnecessary, and responsible for driving up the cost of available health insurance plans on the open market.

Here are the "freedom" loving monsters behind the fantasy that free market health care prices will drop:

-Plaintiffs Braidwood Management, Kelley Orthodontics, Joel Starnes, Zach Maxwell, and Ashley Maxwell (the “Religious-Objector Plaintiffs”) all object to paying for health insurance plans that cover contraceptives, PrEP drugs, and other preventive-care services for religious reasons.

-Plaintiffs Donovan Riddle, Karla Riddle, Joel Miller, and Gregory Scheideman (the “Free Market Plaintiffs”) object to paying for health insurance plans that include contraceptive coverage and other preventive-care coverage that they do not want and do not need.

…and finally... 

Ultimately, all Plaintiffs express a desire to purchase on the open market insurance policies that meet their needs and are free from the requirements of the provisions and their resulting mandates.

What could happen? Also remember: Mitch McConnell under Trump just stacked the federal and Supreme Court:

Judge O’Connor, a Republican-appointed conservative, could issue a preliminary injunction blocking first-dollar coverage of preventive services nationwide, which he did in an earlier ACA lawsuit involving coverage for contraceptives. If he does that, or if he moves directly to a summary decision in favor of the plaintiffs, the Biden administration likely would appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a conservative court that partly upheld O’Connor’s 2018 finding that the ACA is unconstitutional.

Even worse?

The plaintiffs’ most effective argument, legal experts said, may be that members of the three agencies that decide which preventive services must be provided at no charge to consumers are not appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. That means they are not constitutionally authorized to make binding regulatory decisions, the plaintiffs argue.

Finally...

Congress cannot delegate responsibility to executive branch agencies to make binding regulatory decisions without providing clear guidance. At least four Republican-appointed justices have indicated a desire to limit this kind of agency discretion.

“This case provides a vehicle for the conservative legal movement to cripple the American administrative state.”

So good-bye to...

…health plans and health insurers “provide coverage for and shall not impose any cost sharing requirements for” …“evidence-based items or services … “immunization recommendations" … “with respect to infants, children, and adolescents, evidence-informed preventive care and screenings"  … “with respect to women, such additional preventive care and screenings."

Ironically, a press release today by a Republican said it best....

Welfare: Health care is the new "plasma flat screen TV" for Republicans: The thing is, health care itself isn't "welfare" or a product that people can exploit. No one sees doctors or stay in hospitals on a whim, because people don't use health care unless they need it. As Wisconsin Assembly leader Robin Vos once said about the cost of giving health care to the poor: 

Sleepy Joe's record so far...

 

Q question...

 

Scott Walker's fight against Teachers, Public Schools, and Families more of that "Objective American History?"

Simply, Scott Walker wants to get into every classroom and teach every child in the country "objective" American history. Huh oh...

Below I have examples of what Objective American History would look like in Scott Walker's world.

#1. Objective History? Imagine, an overtly subjective political ideologue like Scott Walker, wanting "objective history" taught in every classroom in the country. Something suspicious there. Well, that raised so many red flags for me, that to be objective, I had to investigate this tired old unoriginal construct of the radical right.

Here's what I found with a simple google search about "historical objectivity:" 

"Historical objectivity" is not attainable because of three factors such as- the nature of historical events, the selection of historical events and the personality of the author, his motives intentions and temperament.

1. To reconcile ourselves to the presence of subjectivity, which enters at every step in the process of investigation; 2. the present can and does influence our knowledge of the past. 3. The conversation which is history does lead to further conversation … because at no point we can say that we have arrived at the absolute truth. 4. Stephen Berer, Education Coordinator: "History is an entirely human-constructed phenomenon, produced after-the-fact … constructed and subjective.

#2. Walker sells "Objective History" by Shredding First Amendment?: The Bulwark pointed out how Walker chose to show images of Americans protesting their government in his latest insane video sales pitch. Notice Walker's closed caption comment at the bottom of the screen! So, he fought against great public schools, Wisconsin education, and families? Seriously: 

"As governor of Wisconsin, I learned how to fight back."

There are additional images in the first 15 seconds of his video:

In the full Walker video "objective history" means every crazy QAnon pundit out today will be teaching our kids. And he's still the sharpest tool in the shed:

Scott Walker: "I stood up against a hundred thousand protesters in defense of freedom."

Yeah, he really said that: 

Consider: Walker’s video ominously warns unironically that “America is under siege,” with scenes of campus unrest, but does not mention the siege of the Capitol on January 6. It is as if it never happened. But in Walker’s history, a lot gets dropped down the memory hole.

He added that because of progressive professors and liberal politicians, “this generation just doesn’t believe what the facts show to be true.”

#3. Happy "American Exceptionalism's" Objective History: Walker is heading up a movement that hasn't been subtle about their revisionist intent; a positive uplifting summary of history: 

Objective History? Example A: This is happening right now in Wisconsin. This is an actual candidate for Waukesha's school board. Imagine what his idea of an "objective education" is:

Objective History? Example B: Colorado's Jefferson County school board is finding out that the next generation won't be happy with propaganda dressed up as history. This could take your breath away:

CBS/AP: Students are upset by a proposal, drafted by board member Julie Williams, that would form a committee to inspect curriculum in those advanced history classes. It would insure teachers covered concepts like patriotism, the free-enterprise economy and respect for authority — and eschewed subjects about civil disorder and social strife. Ken Witt, the president of the school board, said he thinks students are being used as pawns by teachers, who are unhappy with the history proposal as well as a new pay plan.

Objective History? Example C: 

An Oklahoma legislative committee overwhelmingly voted to ban Advanced Placement U.S. History class, persuaded by the argument that it only teaches students “what is bad about America.” Other lawmakers (want to) prohibit the teaching of all AP courses in public schools. Oklahoma Rep. Dan Fisher (R) said the AP history class fails to teach “American exceptionalism.” The RNC said a new framework for the exam “reflects a radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects.”

Objective History? Example D: 

North Carolina’s conservative majority bill would end the state income tax deduction for tuition expenses — essentially a tax hike on college students.

Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) said, “Socrates trained Plato in on a rock and then Plato trained in Aristotle roughly speaking on a rock. So, huge funding is not necessary to achieve the greatest minds and the greatest intellects in history.” He thinks the answer “would be to get private sector folks into every one of our schools, get the CEOs in the schools and move beyond this just narrow policy debate and really have a revolution.”

Objective History? Example E: Hey, education itself, for black students especially, is a waste and...WELFARE: 

2015: Redefining education as “welfare” Mississippi state representative Gene Alday made national headlines recently …  Alday went on his rant in part because he was trying to justify his opposition to increased funding for elementary school education...teaching kids reading and writing amounts to “welfare” and to suggest that education is wasted on black people in particular.

Objective History? Example F: Objective rejection to rid male students of toxic masculinity...

Two leading state Republican lawmakers are threatening the University of Wisconsin System that if it doesn't remove a course called "The Problem of Whiteness" from UW-Madison's spring semester offerings, the UW's requests for more state funding and a bump in tuition may be denied during budget deliberations next year. “Our friends at UW-Madison not happy enough with labeling 'whiteness' as a societal problem, now are attacking another societal ill…, Men and their masculinity. UW-Madison has become part of a national liberal effort to rid male students of their 'toxic masculinity … believe that Wisconsin mothers and fathers have done a poor job of raising their boys by trying to instill in them the values and characteristics necessary in becoming a Man.”

Objective History? Example G: Step out of line and this happens:

Government censorship of political speech? That's what Vos was suggesting with his little shot over the bow, and a little taste of the kind of freedom and liberty you can expect from the Walker Authority. Seeing a sitting president speak at a public university, even during a campaign, would be something state official's would normally be proud of.

It's enough for this inadequate smarmy politician to call a penalty on the university. Oh, and he says he's not being political? WKOW TV::

What about that fake Border crisis...?

 

This is Governing? Vos exposes current defeatist "Can't Do" attitude for Guns or anything else.

Like doing nothing to control the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives, you also can't do anything about preventing mass shootings, so says Republican Rep. Robin Vos:

Why do we even have a government anyway? Hey, maybe they can shrink government down by just eliminating the other party. JSOnline:

Vos said he did not see a reason to require background checks for all gun purchases because checks are already required for most of them.

"I have not seen exactly how in the circumstances that they described that the guns were obtained, but if they were done lawfully, it seems like we already have a process and if someone chooses to break the law, there is very little that we can do besides arrest them after they’ve committed the act."

Of course that would be too late for those who's lives were snuffed out for rest of eternity. It's the new defeatist "can't do" attitude. 

Prevention does work, it did once before:

But this is the prevailing do-nothing thought process of the entire radicalized Republican agenda that was allowed to fester and rot due to unaccountable gerrymandering; don't prevent water pollution; keep fossil fuels; cut taxes; deny science; minimize voting; vilify Democrats; and punish everyone else.

Listen to Democrats? Who? The echo of Democratic legislators comments are barely audible above the right wing noise machine. Similar to the pandemic...: 

"This is an epidemic," State Sen. Melissa Agard said. "It's a public health crisis and has to stop. It's time to get serious about real, life-saving gun reform policies right now. We must treat these domestic terrorists who are inflicting gun violence on all of us as if it's a national crisis. Legislative action has been proven to save lives.

…Democratic Gov. Evers...

...in 2019 called a special legislative session to expand background checks … Republican lawmakers shut down the special session seconds after convening it.

Why an assault weapons ban is needed. While no one talks about what makes high velocity weapons so deadly, it should be the number one issue of discussion. Here's the "hand gun" used in Colorado, similar to the AR-15, just more convenient in smaller areas:

It explained that one reason for the AR-15’s killing power is that its bullets were designed not to pass straight through an object but to “tumble” when they hit, destroying flesh along the way and leaving a large exit wound on departure.

And like everything else, Republicans are able to defy and outright reject massively popular solutions to huge problems without blowback:

A 2019 poll by Marquette University Law School found 80% of Wisconsin voters backed requiring background checks for all gun purchases.

Scalia's "textual" reading a mind-bending fiction, which just eliminates the first half of the Second Amendment...just because he said so:

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the Heller majority opinion. “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home,” Scalia said.

Neanderthal Republicans sticking with failed 20th Century Health Care policies and theories, supported by lies!

Reminder: The following topic would not exist if we just had universal health care.

Locked in the 1900's: Republican Rep. Mark Born revealed the real reason our gerrymandered conservative legislature opposes life saving Medicaid expansion for 90,000 people, half of whom are not currently insured; profits! 

This was the whole point of Scott Walker's bastardized version of expanding (not really) welfare; Walker wanted to keep people in the private health care market so they could to pay high premiums and out of pocket costs that maintained insurer profits. He wasn't shy about that either.

WELFARE first: Notice how the Vos-Republicans are repeating the BIG LIE that health care for the poor is WELFARE. We're talking about a basic fundamental right to "promote the general WELFARE" of our civil society. Also, did you know access to medical care is a "life of poverty" trap?

Bad at Math? As for those "lower Medicaid reimbursement rates," the Republicans cruel and ghoulish health agenda is built on lying about that, because Governor Evers budget proposal subsidizes those rates:

"Expanding coverage and increasing Medicaid reimbursement for hospitals as well as primary care and specialty providers will reduce uncompensated care." 

Credit WKOW's Capitol City Sunday host A. J. Bayatpour, for coaxing Rep. Mark Born to repeat the lie again and again:

Rep. Born: "We've got people right now covered on private insurance, through the exchange...we know that the private insurance gives them better coverage and better payments to our health systems... that (expansion is) going to have a negative impact on how these health care providers are paid...which then requires private pay and private insurance to make up the difference so we're going to see rates go up for other folks...but those people have coverage on our private insurance, which we know is better for our system, for our health systems."

Again, from Evers 2021-22 budget...

Republicans aren't really against premium increases. Only as far back as 2017 Republicans in Congress were okay with premiums going up to pay for state "high risk pools," even on seniors:  

1. State waivers would allow insurers to charge older customers higher premiums by as much as they'd like.

At the same time in Wisconsin, this bait and switch scam bubbled up:

Gov. Scott Walker, as part of his election-year health care plan, requires insurers to cover people with pre-existing conditions but allows the state insurance commissioner to alter protections, possibly by re-establishing a high-risk pool for such people.

"Re-establishing high risk pool..." and their losses! Think of these pools as a maze you're told to navigate if you want coverage bad enough. How effective were the high risk pools Walker wanted to revive? Hint-they lost money and raised individual insurance premiums:

Wisconsin's high-risk pool insured about 21,000 people, with critics saying high prices kept tens or hundreds of thousands of others from accessing it. Those applying for the program had to wait six months before they were allowed into it and a lifetime cap of $2 million. Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan lost $6.9 million in 2011, roughly a third of which was offset by a federal grant, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The same year, programs in the 35 states lost a total of at least $272 million.

Recession Proofing Health Care: Times have changed, so with Medicaid expansion, future economic downturns are covered: 

Jason Stein, Research Director for the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum, said the debate has taken on a different look this year because more than 200,000 new enrollees have signed up for BadgerCare during the pandemic. "We've had an enormous expansion of the program just because you've had higher unemployment."

Wisconsin Badgers have role in Zack Snyder's Justice League.

The long awaited 4 hour 2 minute reedit, Zack Snyder's Justice League, offered up this amazing surprise game between the Wisconsin Badgers and Gotham City in a snow storm? It's a game we don't remember because, well, the Badgers lost on a final touchdown by the guy who would become Cyborg.

Who wrote this in? What tie is there to Wisconsin? At 1:24:17 in the movie, the Badgers were immortalized: 

 

Sold out...

 

Ron Johnson: "Best example yet of Systemic Racism and Subliminal Racism!"

From day one I made it a point to never call Dumb Ron Johnson a "Senator," because he was just too stupid and unqualified. Exhibit A: His rabid opposition and cluelessness about the ACA. Remember, this was the driving force behind Johnson running for Senate:

The U.S. should rip up the (ACA) and emphasize free-market principles such as health savings accounts (HSA) and out-of-pocket charges, Johnson said. Johnson credits HSA's for pushing consumers to get more attuned to the real cost of care. 

Johnson liked HSA's, accounts that helped pay for high out-of-pocket deductibles. In the Tweet below, guess what Johnson didn't like about the "Affordable Care Act?" Yup, high deductibles (Note: It did lower costs):

"Best example yet of Systemic Racism and Subliminal Racism!" Dumb Ron Johnson has been that white grievance tea party loser waiting to go off, and his fellow Republican colleagues warned us:

Below is the initial Johnson comment. I also included the commentary that adds additional facts; Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes' reaction; Johnson's subsequent radio denial where he said it "fires me up more"; 

NOTE: Incredibly, the number of BLM deaths during the protests were...deaths of the protesters themselves. And this happened over many months, not ONE DAY. BLM protests were demanding police reforms, not the overthrow of our democracy:

Johnson also cited 25 deaths being tied to the protests. Data from the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project show of the 25 people whose deaths were tied to protests or political unrest, nine were Black Lives Matter demonstrators and two were conservatives killed after pro-Trump rallies.

A review of the 2020 summer protests showed 93% of the protests remained peaceful and nondestructive. Out of 10,600 total protests; 7,750 protests connected to Black Lives Matter. It found about 220 locations where the protests became “violent.” "Over 10,100 of these — or nearly 95% — involve peaceful protesters. Fewer than 570 — or approximately 5% — involve demonstrators engaging in violence," the report said.

 In ONE DAY, insurrectionists demanded overturning a presidential election:

A white crowd that marched to the U.S. Capitol to overturn a presidential election and triggered an assault that left five people dead, 140 police officers injured and windows smashed.

Johnson, the Victim, being "silenced?":

 

Here's Matt Lewis, a former conservative Daily Caller columnist criticizing Johnson's racism on Morning Joe:

Bonus: Rep. Glenn Grothman piles on additional racist meme to BLM, because there's no hiding Republican hate. BLM "doesn't like the old fashioned family:"

 

Party of Political Punishers...continues to continue, Rejecting $1.6 billion of our Tax Money!!!

Vos-Republicans want you to believe that Medicaid is a welfare program. But Medicaid is a major domestic program paid with our tax dollars. It helps Americans who can't afford coverage, and has a positive effect for state economies.

This is a series I call...Party of Political Punishers! also here...Party of Political Punishers...continues!

So Republicans want to punish the poor with...

Punishment # 10: Reject $1.6 Billion for Medicaid, and say it's "Welfare?": The Fiscal Conservative Myth-Exhibit A: It's our money, right? The party of punishment would rather walk away from $1.6 billion of our own federal taxes to expand Medicaid (BadgerCare). But it saves lives. No, it's "welfare!" Welfare to the undeserving. Roll the video...

You don't deserve the "privilege" of health care says Dumb Ron Johnson to a group of school kids. You can't make this stuff up...:

Vos-Republicans reject President Biden's $1 billion American Rescue Plan Act Relief Funding for Wisconsin: The thing is, this is such a massively irresponsible act of pure political idiocy, you gotta ask, where the hell are conservative voters? 90,000 more Wisconsinites could have health care!!!

The bonus provision: Wisconsin would receive an additional $1.025 billion over two years if it agrees to accept the expansion. Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed 2021-23 budget bill includes accepting the ACA Medicaid expansion subsidy, which by itself would save the state $635 million, according to the fiscal memo. The new $1 billion bonus is in addition to that amount.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D), added that rejecting the expansion would be “a costly missed opportunity and a slap in the face to every Wisconsin resident. It was already foolish for Republicans to reject the BadgerCare expansion in the last budget, but we cannot afford to lose out on a billion dollars in additional funding.”

How does providing health care "trap" people into poverty? It can't. Here's the direct quote:

 

Republican Idea? Dumb, Irresponsible, Simple, and Ridiculous: You can't just randomly tell insurers to include preexisting conditions. Insurance premiums will skyrocket, and there's nothing in the bill below preventing that from happening. Even worse, the bill only kicks in if the ACA is repealed: 

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna) issued a statement promoting a group of health care bills that the Assembly Rules Committee put on the Assembly schedule. 

Assembly Bill 34 relates to maintaining coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions should the Affordable Care Act be struck down by the courts. 

Party of Political Punishers...continues!

This is part of the continuing series, Party of Political Punishers!

New story about declining Medicaid expansion as punishment here! 

A Quick Review: Punishment or Comply: It's so bad that if you don't comply with Vos-Republican demands, lies, or to party Neanderthals, expect to be penalized harshly and minimized as a Wisconsinite. Here's what I covered in the first "Punisher" post:

Punishment #1: Attack Transgender Athletes. 

Punishment #2: Schools that opted out of In-person classes.

Punishment #3: High Voter turnout must be Suppressed.

Punishment #4: Unmasking/Bullying, Suing to end Emergency Policy.

Punishment #5: Whitesplaining and Rejecting Black History Month Honorees.

_____________________________________________

Then this happened...

NEW! Punishment # 6: Wisconsin cities that cut their law enforcement budgets would get cutoff from state funding: 

WPR: Republican proposal...Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, a retired police officer and one of the bill’s sponsors, said communities that choose to "slash" police budgets should face a "financial consequence."

Gov. Tony Evers has opposed drastically decreasing or eliminating police department budgets, but has also said communities should look into ways of preventing crime through social services, rather than traditional law enforcement.

"We’ve got to leave room to protect taxpayers, we’ve got to leave room to not hurt communities because they’ve been successful in using approaches that matter," said Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee.

Punishment # 7: Vos wants iron fisted Control of COVID Relief Funding: Vos-Republicans didn't do anything for over 10 months in 2020, even during a pandemic for god's sake. When they did return from vacation, they killed the mask mandate. Imagine having control over the COVID-19 relief funding...remember, this happened in Michigan: 

So even while Vos Republicans wiped out the mask mandate and allowed legislative sessions to be held without masks, these punitive ghouls want to hold the governor hostage to their agenda too, by taking control of the COVID relief funding: 

Imagine give Republicans control of Covid relief money their own party didn't vote for!!! Not. Kidding. https://t.co/yeltYg3JGN

— John Peterson (@democurmudgeon) March 6, 2021

Days after announcing they would throw out Gov. Tony Evers’ budget and start over from scratch, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos put out a bill aimed at taking away some of the control from the Evers administration over $5.5 billion Wisconsin is slated to receive from the federal COVID relief bill being debated in Congress.

Punishment #8: Incite Violence against Women's Choice Clinics: Brutal, not leaving anything to the imagination:

Superior Republican elites tell us what's "proper" on a woman's choice: "Properly reflecting that these are little girls and boys that are taken from our midst.”

Inviting violence, Bill would publicize facilities performing abortion: https://t.co/44N4UUXXoO via @WIExaminer

— John Peterson (@democurmudgeon) March 8, 2021

Punishment #9: Undermine Integrity of Elections with Facebook's Villainous Mark Zuckerberg Conspiracy Theory: Resurrecting and questioning an already decided issue by the courts just to pile on and undermine our faith in elections is sooooo obvious. First, they only invited like minded conservatives at their hearing, and second, featured a disgruntled election official who told her story to a conservative news outlet:

WPR: Former Green Bay municipal Clerk Kris Teske raised issues with the funding an one email. The emails were published by Wisconsin Spotlight, a website run by the conservative organization Empower Wisconsin,

Then Republicans brought back a grifting lawyer who already lost these same cases:

A Republican attorney who tried unsuccessfully to overturn the results of Wisconsin's 2020 presidential election told GOP lawmakers newly released emails showed a group with ties to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had too much influence over the voting process in Green Bay last year. Erick Kaardal, an attorney for the conservative Thomas More Society filed two lawsuits … lost both cases, one in state court and one in federal court. He also filed and lost similar lawsuits in other swing states.

Democrats accused Republicans of revisiting a debunked conspiracy theory by rehashing a failed court case involving an election they already lost. "Today’s first Republican witness lost a lawsuit over these grants before the November 2020 election even took place. Kaardal’s track record around the 2020 election is so unreliable that a federal judge has referred Mr. Kaardal for disciplinary action," the Democratic lawmakers said.

There is one more punishment, but that deserves its own post; losing $1.6 billion of our own federal taxes to expand Medicaid (BadgerCare) because it's "welfare." That's right, providing pain and life saving medical care is considered welfare. It's just like the fake pandemic and mask tyranny of Democratic politicians to ultimately destroy the U.S. economy. Republicans insist health care is a privilege.  

What would Feingold say?

 

QAnon's "Debt Lies Matter" movement...

I rarely post national political stories, but the Covid Relief bill is now getting ridiculous criticism. The Trump-cult QAnon death wish mob is desperately trying to blame and vilify the Democratic attempts to help COVID devastated Americans. Remember the national debt and evil China?:

Greene: "It's disgusting. We're already $28 trillion in debt. Japan and China own our debt. Japan and China own America because they own our national debt. And here the Democrats go and they are shoving us in to more debt. We are enslaved like people with chains around our wrists and ankles."

New Slogan-"Debt Lies Matters" (DLM): This is so down the rabbit hole, and another  example of how clueless QAnon members of Congress are. That $28 trillion debt, especially in the last 2 years of Trump's presidency, skyrocketed. And not surprisingly, MAGA voters didn't even notice...:

Wolfstreet: Driven by stimulus and bailouts, and fired up by the tax cuts and by grease and pork, the Incredibly Spiking US National Debt has skyrocketed by $4.55 trillion in 12 months, to $27.86 trillion, after having already spiked by $1.4 trillion in the prior 12 months, which had been the Good Times.

As for Japan and China "owning our debt?" It actually dropped. Look at who was president during the rise and fall of that debt. Hint: NOT Biden:

Greene Shifts Blame to Foreign "Enemies:" Notice in the chart below foreign holders of US debt made up just a part of the total:

Party of Political Punishers!

It's getting national attention now that gerrymandered Republicans are no longer held accountable by their voters, so they can use the Senate filibuster to obstruct anything:

Republicans didn't run on anything, but they did run AGAINST everything. And that's all they have left. Authoritarian much? 

Punishment or Comply: It's so bad that if you don't comply with Trump-Republican memes, lies, and party Neanderthals, expect to be penalized harshly and minimized as an American. 

Punishment #1: Attack Transgender Athletes. 

 States proposing similar penalties are having one big problem though...

Plus, there are rules in place...

The legislation would go against guidance from high school and collegiate sports associations. The NCAA has allowed transgender athletes who have undergone hormone treatment to be able to compete for a decade … "Transgender girls who medically transition at an early age do not go through a male puberty, and therefore their participation in athletics as girls does not raise the same equity concerns that arise when transgender women transition after puberty," the association wrote.

Women are Weak and Can't Compete? Without saying a woman's place is in the kitchen, one female Republican state legislator made that point very clear:

Rep. Janel Brandtjen, R-Menomonee Falls, said, “That’s the biology, the reality. And honestly, you’ll ruin women’s sports forever. Why would you compete if you knew you couldn’t win? 

Punishment #2: Schools that opted out of In-person classes: This is just weird. Besides ignoring local control, they are also ballsy enough to deny the obvious, while arrogantly demanding things be done the "right" way: 

Republicans rejected the notion they were punishing anyone, saying they were simply providing an incentive to return to in-person learning. “I get the spin. I get the politics. That's what we do here,” said Republican Rep. Mark Born, a committee co-chair. “(But) this is for the folks who are doing the right thing to educate our kids in the classroom.”

Punishment #3: High Voter turnout must be Suppressed: Even after 10 years of Republican written voter suppression laws, we still don't have it right, and people still don't have confidence in the election? 

Sen. Alberta Darling said far too many people have sincere concerns about our electoral system. These bills will help restore trust and make sure our elections are handled fairly for everyone." Sen. Duey Stroebel argued public confidence in election is "at a crisis point."

Besides limiting voting drop boxes to just one per community, requiring them to be attached to the municipal clerks office, absentee voting would be restricted for "election integrity" of course: 

Urban Milwaukee: Republicans like Scott Walker and Reince Priebus, each with robust histories of absentee voting, now oppose it in the name of “election integrity.” Their real concern seems to be that absentee ballots will increase Democratic Party votes at the expense of Republican.

…despite... 

And nationally, out of Georgia:

Jennifer Ruben: It was a blunder, a gratuitous act that revealed not only their animus toward democracy but their lack of simple human decency. The Georgia bill threw in a provision to ban anyone from giving water or snacks to people standing in line to vote. It was a political error born of Republicans’ own arrogance and inhumanity. And it may cost them greatly in the battle over voting rights. President Biden declared, “It’s sick. It’s sick. You don’t need anything else to know that this is nothing but punitive designed to keep people from voting. You can’t provide water for people about to vote? Give me a break.”

The water provision is mean-spirited and blatantly punitive, instantly recognizable as a Jim Crow tactic designed to make people miserable. In the effort to show the law has nothing to do with voting security, Exhibit A may be the water provision. 

Punishment #4: Unmasking/Bullying: Don't be fooled when Vos Republicans say they recommend CDC guidelines for wearing a mask, it's total BS judging by their own actions. Bullying Democrats into a room full of unmasked Republicans is sweet revenge:

"So just to be clear, you're going to enforce somebody to wear a jacket in their office, but not have somebody wear a mask in the chamber. Is that correct?" Larson said.

"That is correct, senator. Those are not in the rules. Wearing of a coat is," Kapenga said.

"Do you feel safe on the Senate floor?" WISN 12's Kent Wainscott asked Larson.

"No, no. And that is the only time since the guidance came out that I had been inside a place where there was folks without masks," Larson said. "I would much rather turn in our jackets for masks and things that actually make sense to keep each other safe."

Punishment #5: Whitesplaining Black History Month Honorees: Republicans refused to recognize the month if they didn't get their way. They showed them:

JSOnline: Rep. David Bowen, Sen. LaTonya Johnson, Rep. LaKeshia Myers and Taylor said white Republican legislative leaders again sought changes to a resolution proposed by the Black caucus before allowing the measure to be put on the Assembly's calendar. Myers said GOP leaders wanted to remove names from the list, including Stacy Abrams, and add names, including Sen. Julian Bradley, who is the first Black Republican in the Wisconsin Senate.

UPDATE: 3/16/2021: Then this happened: 

Punishment #6: Democrats are Marxists, Defeat their Agenda: But nothing Democrats want to do is good, so Republicans must block and destroy their attempts to destroy America. Rep. Glenn Grothman explained the twisted thinking of QAnon believers everywhere. WKOW: