So what gives with the Republican Party?
In Texas they’ve declared that same-sex relationships are “abnormal” and that the 2020 election of President Biden was “illegitimate.”
One Congressional Republican warns more Jan. 6th-style violence is inevitable, and a GOP candidate in Missouri launched a campaign (disabled by Facebook, thankfully) to “hunt down” and kill those he considers RINOS — Republicans In Name Only.
What is truly abnormal about all this is the Republican Party itself. By repeating the relentless lies about an election “stolen” by Democrats in 2020, Republicans have now installed election deniers in key positions in some swing states, where they presumably will try to actually steal the 2024 election after Trump failed to do so in 2020.
That is truly abnormal behavior.
Legitimate Republicans have a duty now to speak out against this onslaught of truly illegitimate acts, but virtually all of them are too scared to do that. Since fear is the tool of authoritarians, the national GOP is in danger of sinking into a far-right sinkhole.
Once down there, can it ever come back? Will it?
I’m not by nature a pessimistic person. It is notable that a bipartisan bill imposing mild new restrictions on gun ownership may succeed. And there are still some reasonably sane GOP senators like Mitt Romney and many good state and local officials. Plus, some of the more extreme candidates backed by Trump around the country have been losing primary elections.
So there still is hope.
When I was a teenager I read Sinclair Lewis’s novel “It Can’t Happen Here.” (Every teenager should.) Some critics have contended its dystopian vision of American society was an exaggeration, hyperbole — that in fact we could never see a fascist dictator like Hitler in America.
Let’s hope they are right about that.
But in that context, I wonder, what the hell is going on with the Republican Party?
***
On to some personal and decidedly more positive news. For those who enjoyed the story about my 10-year-old grandson Oliver’s Little League play, I have an update. His all-star team played again Monday evening (his coach started Ollie and moved him up in the batting order) and they won handily, 20-2. He hit four line-drive singles to left field in his four at bats and drove in six of those runs. His team next plays in a semi-final match on Friday evening.
TODAY’s LINKS: (6/21/22 — 37 stories from 18 sources)
Biden says he will decide on federal gas tax holiday 'by the end of the week' (USA Today)
Majority of US economists expecting recession (Sky)
A series of surprise actions by some of the world’s largest central banks fretting about runaway inflation has left bond investors battered. Now, a growing chorus of investors is calling on policymakers to move fast to end the uncertainty. (Reuters)
GOP member of Jan. 6 committee warns that more violence is coming (WP)
Republican Drive to Tilt Courts Against Climate Action Reaches a Crucial Moment (NYT)
US Senate candidate's rhino-hunting video pulled from Facebook (AP)
Texas Republican party adopts far-right position that homosexuality is ‘abnormal’ (Guardian)
A Japanese court ruled the country's ban on same-sex marriage was not unconstitutional, dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights activists in the only Group of Seven nation that does not allow people of the same gender to marry. (Reuters)
Trump campaign documents give inside look at fake-elector plan (WP)
The U.S. House panel investigating the January 2021 attack on the Capitol will present evidence this week that former President Donald Trump was involved in a failed bid to submit slates of fake electors to overturn the 2020 election, a key lawmaker said. (Reuters)
Texas Republicans Approve Far-Right Platform Declaring Biden’s Election Illegitimate (NYT)
Modern ‘redlining’ is pushing some Texans out of their homes (WP)
From fringe to mainstream: Far-right breaks through in French election shock (NBC)
Fix the electoral count law now, before Trump tries to exploit it again (Edit Bd/WP)
Russian Forces Tighten Noose Around Important Cities in Ukraine’s East (NYT)
Africa is a hostage of Russia's war on Ukraine, Zelensky says (BBC)
Ukraine expects a historic week as E.U. considers its candidacy status (WP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy predicted Russia will escalate its attacks this week as European Union leaders consider whether to back his country's bid to join the bloc and Russia presses its campaign to win control of east Ukraine. (Reuters)
Fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, Russian books and music to be banned (NHK)
Taliban Release Five Britons, Resolving Dispute With U.K. (WSJ)
Ethiopia violence in Oromia: 'Villages full of dead bodies' (BBC)
Long COVID answers are coming into focus, slowly (MLive)
Sweltering streets: Hundreds of homeless die in extreme heat (AP)
Authorities in flood-hit Bangladesh and northeastern India scrambled to provide aid to more than nine million people marooned after the heaviest rains in years killed at least 54 people across both South Asian nations. (Reuters)
A 3,400-year-old city in Iraq emerges from underwater after an extreme drought (CNN)
Israel faces fifth election in three years (Financial Times)
How John Roberts could channel John Marshall (Politico)
Peter Thiel helped build big tech. Now he wants to tear it all down. (WP)
International Swimming Bars Transgender Women From Competing in Women’s Events (WSJ)
Brazil police identify five more people linked to killings of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira (BBC)
Giant Sunspot Has Doubled in Size in 24 Hours and It's Pointed at Earth (Newsweek)
The Open Secret of Google Search — One of the most-used tools on the internet is not what it used to be. (Atlantic)
Cambodian catches world’s largest recorded freshwater fish (AP)
Artificial Consciousness Is Boring (Atlantic)
Watch Bob Dylan Sing “Happy Birthday” for Brian Wilson’s 80th (Pitchfork)
Encouraging Report Finds Most Of Planet Will Still Be Habitable In 2023 (The Onion)
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