#davegranlund

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Dave Granlund :: @DaveGranlund#MikeJohnson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 13, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 14, 2023

In a day that was chock full of political stories in which Republicans were launching attacks on Democrats, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) made a key point. “We have not passed an emergency supplemental, a Farm Bill, or regular Appropriations,” he said. “The story is not what they are doing. The story is what they are not doing.”  

Schatz was referring to specific, vital measures that are not getting through Congress: the outstanding funding bill for aid to Ukraine and Israel, border security, and humanitarian aid for Gaza; the Farm Bill, which governs the nation’s agricultural and food assistance programs and needs to be renewed every five years; and the regular appropriations bills that Congress must pass and that House extremists tossed out former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over because they wanted deep cuts that he had agreed with President Joe Biden not to make. 

But there is a larger point behind Schatz’s observation. Republicans, especially the extremist wing, have garnered power by promising to stop the government from acting. The extraordinary gerrymandering in Republican-dominated states following Operation REDMAP in 2010 created such safe districts that Republicans did not need to worry about losing elections. That safety meant that their role was not to offer real legislative solutions to problems, but rather to gin up support for the party nationally by pushing party talking points on right-wing media. Those talking points focused on slashing the government, which they claimed was hurting their constituents by defending secular society and providing benefits to undeserving minorities and women. 

Now, though, the Republicans are in charge of the House of Representatives, and they actually need to get work done. But extremist Republicans’ skill set involves pushing talking points to create a false reality that demands gutting the government, not legislating, which requires compromise and deep understanding of issues. 

We appear to be watching Republicans’ fake image crash against reality. 

This morning was the scheduled date for the House Oversight Committee’s closed-door deposition from President Biden’s son Hunter. Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) subpoenaed him in early November, trying to find evidence that the president participated in illegal business deals before he became president. But, in fact, the committee is making its case entirely by innuendo—it has turned up no evidence of any such schemes—and publicly misrepresented the closed-door testimony of Hunter Biden’s former business partner to say the opposite of what it did.

So Hunter Biden’s lawyers called their bluff, saying the younger Biden would be happy to testify…but only in a public hearing, so that his testimony could not be misrepresented. The committee refused that offer, saying he must appear behind closed doors, a condition that seemed to undercut their claim they want transparency. 

Today, Hunter Biden turned the tables on their habit of giving press statements by showing up himself outside of the Capitol to reiterate that he would answer “any legitimate questions” in a public hearing. “Republicans do not want an open process where Americans can see their tactics, expose their baseless inquiry, or hear what I have to say. What are they afraid of?”

He offered his own statement. “Let me state as clearly as I can,” he said. “[M]y father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of Burisma, not in my partnership with a Chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist,” he said. “There is no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business, because it did not happen,” he said. 

He portrayed his father as a loving parent who supported him through his addiction struggle, and noted that Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) had showed naked photos of him in a committee hearing, taking “the light of my dad’s love for me” and presenting it “as darkness.”

Republicans say they will prosecute Hunter Biden for contempt of Congress because he defied a subpoena. But that, too, is awkward, as a number of Republican representatives—including Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-OH)—ignored subpoenas from the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Pushing the idea that there is a “Biden crime family” is a transparent effort to create confusion by suggesting that the Bidens are simply the Democratic version of the Trumps, whose family business, the Trump Organization, was found guilty of tax fraud in January 2023. Judge Arthur Engoron also found that company, along with Trump and his two older sons and two other employees, liable for bank fraud in September 2023 and is currently considering fines of at least $250 million and ending the Trumps’ ability to do business in New York. Testimony in that trial concluded today. 

With no comparable Biden Organization, Republicans are trying to invent one. 

Their effort to convince voters that President Biden is corrupt has led to the tail wagging the dog as, after hearing constantly about how lawless Biden is, their supporters have demanded that House Republicans launch an impeachment inquiry into him. Today, House Republicans unanimously voted to open such an inquiry, though the lack of evidence made them caution that such an inquiry did not mean they would ultimately impeach the president. 

When asked what he’s hoping to gain from an impeachment inquiry, Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) answered: “All I can say is Donald J. Trump 2024, baby.”

Biden reacted with uncharacteristic anger, calling out Republicans for ignoring the many imperative issues before them in order to “waste time on this baseless political stunt that even Republicans in Congress admit is not supported by facts.” He listed the nation’s unfinished business: funding for Ukraine and Israel, immigration policy, and funding the government to avoid “self-inflicted economic crises like a government shutdown, which Republicans in Congress are driving us toward in just a few weeks because they won’t act now to fund the government and critical priorities to make life better for the American people.”

Biden pointed out that having wasted weeks after tossing out their own House speaker and “having to expel their own members”—a reference to George Santos (R-NY), whom the House expelled two weeks ago—Republicans are now “leaving for a month without doing anything to address these pressing challenges.” 

Republicans’ image has met reality today in another way, as well. In 2020, former president Trump insisted that Biden would tank the economy, but in fact, under Biden it has bloomed. Today the Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the key measures of the stock market, climbed to a new all-time high, topping out at over 37,000. At the same time, unemployment has sat below 4% for months now, and inflation has fallen, showing that “Bidenomics” has been hugely successful. 

Tonight, though, Trump doubled down on Republican talking points, telling an audience in Iowa that unless he is reelected—presumably to reverse Biden’s policies—“we’ll have a depression the likes of which I don’t believe anybody has ever seen.” 

But in an interesting rejection of House talking points in favor of reality, this evening the Senate passed a clean $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which gives a 5.2% pay raise to military personnel, by a vote of 87 to 13. House Republicans had loaded the measure up with a wish list of attacks on abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and diversity initiatives.

Tomorrow the measure will go to the House, where extremist Republicans angrily oppose it, but experts expect it will pass nonetheless. 

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[twodoggarage]

#Repost @courtneyclift • • • • • • In like Flynn... (He was lying) - Justice Department drops Flynn case, arguing that the interview in which by his own admission he lied should never have been conducted in the first place. The decision comes after enormous pressure from Trump to exonerate his former security adviser. - Flynn wasn't tripped up on a technicality or for lying about a personal matter. He was caught making promises to the Russian ambassador and could have faced far more serious charges had he not pleaded guilty. - William Barr says it was his 'duty under the law' to drop the charges against Flynn. “I'm doing the law’s bidding. I’m doing my duty under the law, as I see it." - Trump tweets: "Yesterday was a BIG day for Justice in the USA. Congratulations to General Flynn, and many others. I do believe there is MUCH more to come! Dirty Cops and Crooked Politicians do not go well together!" - Barr dropped the case against Flynn. Here's what that means: If you're a friend of the president, then justice doesn't apply to you. There are two separate legal systems in this nation. #DonTheCon #GaslighterInChief #TrumpLies #TrumpTweets #TrumpSpews #FakeNews #WilliamBarr #AttorneyGeneral #DOJ #MichaelFlynn #AhmaudArbery #BillBramhall @whamondd #BillDay @matt_davies_draws #GaryHuck @tooner13 @bagleycartoons @JimmyMargulies #DaveGranlund @clayjonz #Cartoons #CoffeeAndCourtney #ComicRelief #Comics #CartoonCurator #SafeComicSpace #PoliticalCartoons #InstaDaily https://www.instagram.com/p/CAFqb2fA9SX/?igshid=x7vtjinx9msr

[immigrationnewsdigest]

Dave Granlund's cartoon https://www.facebook.com/DAVEGRANLUND/posts/10164292170690615

Posted by Dave Granlund on Thursday, August 13, 2020

[mongoose232323]

Reminds Me Of The Good Old Days

~ George W. Bush ~

Dave Granlund

@DaveGranlund

[furryalligator]

(via CSotD: Deja vu all over again The Daily Cartoonist)

I read the news today ... uh boy ... w/@Patbagley @MikeLester #DaveGranlund & @DarrinBellArt -- https://t.co/N6KhPG9fys pic.twitter.com/Q5wWfMp8BV

— Mike Peterson (@ComicStripOTD) September 4, 2019

[higpix]

O Happy Day!!! So much success and so much work battling oppression, sexism, equality, healthcare, climate degradation...etc! But for now, SUCCESS!!! We’ll done, America! Artwork cred: @davegranlund #unity https://www.instagram.com/p/CHTKdgVHqhc/?igshid=nmfawwly9qck

[miniyo]

Dave Granlund, en The Cagle Post, http://www.cagle.com/ 

[web] http://www.davegranlund.com/cartoons/ [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/DAVEGRANLUND

[hrexach]

A picture says a thousand words …. “This one, a cartoon, definitely screams, #52 …. McCain's Prime Medical Coverage …. Paid by Taxpayers .... “!!

A picture says a thousand words …. “This one, a cartoon, definitely screams, #52 …. McCain’s Prime Medical Coverage …. Paid by Taxpayers …. “!!

~~July 26, 2017~~ 

OH THE IRONY

Let the cartoon speak for itself. As of yesterday, when he cast a procedural vote, my respect for ‘The Maverick’ has hit a new low.

HortyRex©

  If John McCain were uninsured, his surgery could have cost $76,000 That means that if McCain happened to be one of his uninsured or under-insured constituents, and not a Senator with his healthcare subsidized by American…

[bloghrexach]

A picture says a thousand words …. “This one, a cartoon, definitely screams, #52 …. McCain's Prime Medical Coverage …. Paid by Taxpayers .... “!!

A picture says a thousand words …. “This one, a cartoon, definitely screams, #52 …. McCain’s Prime Medical Coverage …. Paid by Taxpayers …. “!!

~~July 26, 2017~~ 

OH THE IRONY

Let the cartoon speak for itself. As of yesterday, when he cast a procedural vote, my respect for ‘The Maverick’ has hit a new low.

HortyRex©

  If John McCain were uninsured, his surgery could have cost $76,000 That means that if McCain happened to be one of his uninsured or under-insured constituents, and not a Senator with his healthcare subsidized by American…

[twodoggarage]

"Your liberty ends where my nose begins" • • • • • • #Repost @courtneyclift • • • • • • The reopening... (Life's a beach) Trump tweets: 1) "We can’t let the Fake News, and their partner, the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, get away with stealing the Election. They tried that in 2016. How did that work out?" 2) "The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal." 3) "Cryin’ Chuck Schumer was on a late night show using a false talking point over & over again. “We don’t have enough testing ,” he would repeat, when he knows we have done a great job on Testing, just like we have on Ventilators and everything else. He lied, gave NY SALT. Run AOC!" 4) "Cryin Chuck Schumer, compared to what other Senators have brought home to their states, has brought very little back to N.Y. A totally overrated loser, the one thing he has given them is SALT. He never even called me to stop it. No wonder Cuomo & most others can’t stand him. AOC!" 5) "Concast (@NBCNews) and Fake News @CNN are going out of their way to say GREAT things about China. They are Chinese puppets who want to do business there. They use USA airwaves to help China. The Enemy of the People!" - “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” — Donald J. Trump, Jan. 24 #DonTheCon #TrumpLies #TrumpTweets #TrumpSpews #FakeNews #Coronavirus #COVID19 #SecondWave #Beaches #Reopening @kevin.siers #JackOhman #MikeSmith @adamzyglis #AndyMarlette #SteveSack #DaveGranlund @cohencidents #TaylorJones #Cartoons #CoffeeAndCourtney #ComicRelief #Comics #CartoonCurator #SafeComicSpace #PoliticalCartoons #InstaDaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B_qH4pGpRVh/?igshid=10efpb1dy3ghw

[immigrationnewsdigest]

Of clowns and scars and doing the right thing. Click here -- https://t.co/iSXrg0NJVU -- to join #DaveGranlund @BillWhitehead8 @planteink @davidhorsey #NonSequitur & @cathywilcox1 https://t.co/bgXlhSct28

— Mike Peterson (@ComicStripOTD) Sep 7, 2021

[mongoose232323]

As The Lockdowns End

People Are Returning To

A Sense Of Normalcy

Dave Granlund

@DaveGranlund

[furryalligator]

Our appetite for foolish trivia has left us totally Shipfaced. Come see what we're ignoring, w/@claytoonz @Rob_Rogers @BennettCartoons @ThatSteveSack #DaveGranlund @thenib @schrankartoons & @mattyglesias -- https://t.co/WwEuxy1jc5 pic.twitter.com/DkBTzLbRRK

— Mike Peterson (@ComicStripOTD) June 2, 2019

[twodoggarage]

#Repost @courtneyclift • • • • • • Happy Veterans Day... (Except Vindman) - NSA Robert O’Brien says Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a top witness in the House impeachment inquiry, will be removed from his post at the White House National Security Council. - Retaliation against Lt. Col. Vindman started shortly after he reported his concerns with Trump's "perfect" call to Zelensky to the senior WH lawyer, John Eisenberg. Vindman was subsequently excluded from trips to all countries in his portfolio (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus). - In his new book "Triggered," Don Jr writes about a visit to Arlington National Cemetery before his father's inauguration and compares the sacrifice of the soldiers buried there to "all the sacrifices we'd have to make to help my father succeed." - Alexander Vindman, an immigrant from the Soviet Union who along with his twin chose a life of military and public service, makes me proud of America. That he recognizes his duty to tell the truth when confronted with a criminal president makes me even prouder. Thank you to all veterans and their families for your service and sacrifice! #DonTheCon #DestroyerInChief #LtColAlexanderVindman #Vindman #NSC #VeteransDay #DonTheConJr #Impeachment #UkraineGate #TimCampbell #SteveSack @bagleycartoons @clayjonz #EdWexler #DavidFitzsimmons #RickMcKee #JoeHeller #DaveGranlund @murphycartoons #Cartoons #CoffeeAndCourtney #ComicRelief #Comics #CartoonCurator #SafeComicSpace #PoliticalCartoons #InstaDaily https://www.instagram.com/p/B4uxhOdA5Oi/?igshid=g92ajxz1mveo

[immigrationnewsdigest]

Of clowns and scars and doing the right thing. Click here -- https://t.co/iSXrg0NJVU -- to join #DaveGranlund @BillWhitehead8 @planteink @davidhorsey #NonSequitur & @cathywilcox1 https://t.co/bgXlhSct28

— Mike Peterson (@ComicStripOTD) Sep 7, 2021