'Red Caesarism' is rightwing code - and some Republicans are listening

From The Guardian - Sun 1 Oct 2023

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/01/red-caesar-authoritarianism-republicans-extreme-right

In June, the rightwing academic Kevin Slack published a book-length polemic claiming that ideas that had emerged from what he called the radical left were now so dominant that the US republic its founders envisioned was effectively at an end.

Slack, a politics professor at the conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan, made conspiratorial and extreme arguments now common on the antidemocratic right, that “transgenderism, anti-white racism, censorship, cronyism … are now the policies of an entire cosmopolitan class that includes much of the entrenched bureaucracy, the military, the media, and government-sponsored corporations”.

In a discussion of possible responses to this conspiracy theory, he wrote that the “New Right now often discusses a Red Caesar, by which it means a leader whose post-Constitutional rule will restore the strength of his people”.

For the last three years, parts of the American right have advocated a theory called Caesarism as an authoritarian solution to the claimed collapse of the US republic in conference rooms, podcasts and the house organs of the extreme right, especially those associated with the Claremont Institute thinktank.

Though on the surface this discussion might seem esoteric, experts who track extremism in the US say that due to their influence on the Republican party, the rightwing intellectuals who espouse these ideas about the attractions of autocracy present a profound threat to American democracy.

Their calls for a “red Caesar” are now only growing louder as Donald Trump, whose supporters attempted to violently halt the election of Joe Biden in 2020, has assumed dominant frontrunner status in the 2024 Republican nomination race. Trump, who also faces multiple criminal indictments, has spoken openly of attacking the free press in the US and having little regard for American constitutional norms should he win the White House again...

Pelosi says interim House speaker McHenry has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol ...

Source: CNN

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday said the newly named interim speaker, GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, has ordered her to vacate her office in the Capitol building.

She does maintain her regular office in the Cannon House office building.

An email sent from McHenry’s office to Pelosi’s office just after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening that was viewed by CNN, stated, “Going to reassign h-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow.”

Pelosi said in a statement that she was not in Washington, DC, to immediately move her belongings.

“With all of the important decisions that the new Republican Leadership must address, which we are all eagerly awaiting, one of the first actions taken by the new Speaker Pro Tempore was to order me to immediately vacate my office in the Capitol,” the California Democrat said. “Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/03/politics/pelosi-vacate-office-capitol-mchenry-interim-speaker/index.html

Romney proposes sending $1,000 checks to every American to ease coronavirus economic pain

Source: CNBC

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney proposed on Monday sending every American adult $1,000 to ease the financial pain of the coronavirus pandemic that has tanked global markets and threatened to grind U.S. economic activity to a halt.

The proposal from the 2012 Republican nominee for president came as the White House and Congress work to reach an agreement over the necessary stimulus measures to contain the unfolding economic crisis.

National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow, asked on Monday by a reporter whether the White House would support direct cash assistance to American households, paused and said “we might.”

“The answer: ‘could be,’” Kudlow said.


Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/coronavirus-stimulus-romney-proposes-1000-for-every-american.html

Senators From Least Populated States Say The U.S. Isn't 'Full'

Senators From Least Populated States Say The U.S. Isn’t ‘Full’
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-immigration-full-asylum_n_5cacd724e4b0e833aa31dc02
Source: huffpost

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s blunt suggestion last week that the United States is too “full” to accommodate migrants isn’t shared by lawmakers from some of the least populated areas of the country, who maintain that lawful immigrants are more than welcome in their states.

“I don’t think the country’s full. We’ve got a lot of room in North Dakota and there’s even more in Montana,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), whose home state of North Dakota boasts just 760,000 people, according to the latest U.S. census estimate, told HuffPost on Tuesday.

During a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border last week, Trump urged migrants fleeing violence in Central America to turn back because “our country is full.”

“Whether it’s asylum or anything you want ― illegal immigration ― we can’t take you anymore,” Trump declared, insisting the U.S. immigration system is overburdened and unable to process more asylum requests. “Our country is full. Our area is full. The sector is full. Can’t take you anymore, I’m sorry. Turn around,” he added during a round table in El Paso, Texas.