Post by the Scribe on Oct 15, 2022 8:53:21 GMT
USA TODAY Opinion
Trump has been subpoenaed, Biden hasn't. So...Republicans and Democrats are both flawed?
www.yahoo.com/news/trump-subpoenaed-biden-hasnt-republicans-174247656.html
Rex Huppke, USA TODAY
Fri, October 14, 2022 at 10:42 AM
Look, I know the midterm elections are coming up, but I’ll be darned if I can figure out the difference between our two major political parties.
Take Thursday, for example. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, was subpoenaed by a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/13/trump-subpoenaed-secret-service-jan-6-committee/10442711002/
At the same time, current Democratic President Joe Biden, on a West Coast trip that included a stop in Colorado to name a new national monument, stopped for chicken quesadillas at a Los Angeles restaurant.
www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/watch-president-biden-tacos1986-la-westwood/3007268/
Which is worse? I’ll be darned if I know.
Former President Trump is seen on screen during the committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol hearing on Oct. 13, 2022 in Washington DC.
Is espionage even that bad a thing?
Also Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from Trump in a classified records dispute that’s part of an espionage case focused on the former president. That sounds bad, but it begs other questions: Is espionage actually bad? Does it reflect poorly on Biden that he's not the focus of an espionage case?
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/13/supreme-court-trump-mar-lago-documents/10471232002/
More from Rex Huppke: A foreign spy's view on Mar-a-Lago search affidavit: 'You're taking the fun out of spying'
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/08/26/affidavit-fbi-search-mar-a-lago-trump-classified-top-secret-documents/7898546001/
Maybe espionage is a good thing. I don’t have the answers. And that makes it hard to see what separates Democrats and Republicans.
President Joe Biden speaks about protecting and conserving America's iconic outdoor spaces on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.
Racism in 2022: Are we for or against?
On the one hand, Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently went on a racist tirade, saying Black people are “the people who do the crime,” and in the week that followed, not a public word of condemnation bubbled up from the elected members of the Republican Party.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/10/kanye-west-anti-semitic-tommy-tuberville-racist-reparation-marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-huppke/8232560001/
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/11/tuberville-racist-remarks-republicans-silent-outrage/10466174002/
MINDEN, NEVADA - OCTOBER 08: U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) looks on during a campaign rally at Minden-Tahoe Airport on October 08, 2022 in Minden, Nevada. Former U.S. President Donald Trump held a campaign style rally for Nevada GOP candidates ahead of the state's midterm election on November 8th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
On the other hand, leaked audio of three Democrats on the Los Angeles City Council engaged in a racist and crude conversation was met by immediate calls for their resignations from Democrats across the country, including President Biden. One council member, Nury Martinez, resigned Wednesday.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/11/los-angeles-city-council-racist-remarks-nury-martinez/10464682002/
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/12/los-angeles-city-council-racist-audio-meeting-tensions/10476195002/
Is accepting flagrant racism in the year 2022 good, or is it better to emphatically reject it? You got me on that one. It’s a real head-scratcher.
GOP must rebuke racist remarks: Kanye West, Tommy Tuberville and the antisemitic, racist weekend
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/10/kanye-west-anti-semitic-tommy-tuberville-racist-reparation-marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-huppke/8232560001/
Tucker Carlson stuck with Kanye, but Democrats did not do that
Adding to the confusion, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, arguably the most influential media figure in Republican circles, spent a good part of last week propping up rapper and Trump supporter Kanye West, then went quiet as a mouse after West tweeted he was “going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/10/11/conservative-media-impact-republicans-future-conservatism/10396044002/
www.mediaite.com/tv/tucker-carlson-continues-to-boost-kanye-west-after-rappers-anti-semitic-tweet/
On the flip side, no influential media figure in Democratic circles did that, so…puh-tay-toe, puh-tah-toe, right?
Supporting Alex Jones seems bad...
On Wednesday, a jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to eight families of Sandy Hook shooting victims who for years were mercilessly harassed by Jones and his followers over the baseless claim the shooting was a hoax.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/12/alex-jones-verdict-jury-orders-965-million-sandy-hook-lies/10479732002/
InfoWars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court during his trial on September 21, 2022 in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Jones is being sued by several victims' families for causing emotional and psychological harm after they lost their children in the Sandy Hook massacre. A Texas jury last month ordered Jones to pay $49.3 million to the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, one of 26 students and teachers killed in the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
A sitting Republican congresswoman, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, came to Jones’ defense on Twitter, calling the verdict “a political persecution” and writing: “No matter what you think of Alex Jones all he did was speak words.”
Alex Jones finally faces consequences: Hateful lies have to come with a cost.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/08/04/alex-jones-verdict-sandy-hook-lies/10234922002/
Charlie Kirk, head of the prominent Republican student organization Turning Point USA, also overlooked Jones’ years of verbal savagery, writing on Twitter that the verdict was about Democrats controlling speech: “This is about sending a message: If you upset the Regime, they will destroy you, completely and utterly, forever.”
www.yahoo.com/now/voices-republicans-support-bully-liar-221725867.html
...but Biden was once nice to his son
Defending Jones seems pretty horrendous, but earlier in the week, Fox News’ Sean Hannity aired a 2018 voicemail Biden left for his son, Hunter Biden, who was struggling with drug addiction. Biden said: “It’s Dad. I called to tell you I love you. I love you more than the whole world, pal. You gotta get some help. I know you don’t know what to do. I don’t either.”
www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-scorched-grotesque-personal-035630013.html
President Joe Biden hugs his son Hunter Biden and members of the Biden family after the 2021 Presidential Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol.
So members of one party were coddling a man whose rhetoric caused parents who lost children in a school shooting to suffer untold additional pain. BUT, the other party’s president was a kind and loving dad who tried to help his struggling son. A real toss-up there, if I’m being honest. It’s one of those “six of one, one-half-dozen of the other” situations.
Republican Party needs a rebrand: If the GOP is ready to rebrand amid Trump's woes, here are my ideas for a post-MAGA party
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/09/01/donald-trump-maga-rebrand-huppke/7946078001/
Tricky to figure out the difference between Democrats and Republicans
It’s clear voters have a tough choice in the midterms. Both parties have serious flaws, ranging from fully embracing racism and espionage to not doing either of those things.
How in the heck are voters supposed to know which one is best?
More humor and satire from Rex Huppke:
Lizzo plays James Madison's crystal flute while racists play dog whistles
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/09/29/lizzo-flute-james-madison-racist-history-huppke/8125708001/
Sen. Lindsey Graham mansplains abortion ban: 'I picked 15 weeks.' Got it, ladies?
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/09/13/lindsey-graham-federal-abortion-ban-gop-midterms-huppke/10368808002/
What Trump and his wannabes did in one weekend should scare us all.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/10/03/donald-trump-death-wish-mitch-mcconnell-elaine-chao-marjorie-taylor-greene-killing-huppke/8164744001/
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @rexhuppke and Facebook: facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gets subpoena from Jan 6 committee while Biden visits Tacos 1986
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/14/trump-subpoena-january-6-committee-republican-democrat-differences/10492809002/
Trump has been subpoenaed, Biden hasn't. So...Republicans and Democrats are both flawed?
www.yahoo.com/news/trump-subpoenaed-biden-hasnt-republicans-174247656.html
Rex Huppke, USA TODAY
Fri, October 14, 2022 at 10:42 AM
Look, I know the midterm elections are coming up, but I’ll be darned if I can figure out the difference between our two major political parties.
Take Thursday, for example. Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, was subpoenaed by a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/13/trump-subpoenaed-secret-service-jan-6-committee/10442711002/
At the same time, current Democratic President Joe Biden, on a West Coast trip that included a stop in Colorado to name a new national monument, stopped for chicken quesadillas at a Los Angeles restaurant.
www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/watch-president-biden-tacos1986-la-westwood/3007268/
Which is worse? I’ll be darned if I know.
Former President Trump is seen on screen during the committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol hearing on Oct. 13, 2022 in Washington DC.
Is espionage even that bad a thing?
Also Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied an appeal from Trump in a classified records dispute that’s part of an espionage case focused on the former president. That sounds bad, but it begs other questions: Is espionage actually bad? Does it reflect poorly on Biden that he's not the focus of an espionage case?
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/13/supreme-court-trump-mar-lago-documents/10471232002/
More from Rex Huppke: A foreign spy's view on Mar-a-Lago search affidavit: 'You're taking the fun out of spying'
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/08/26/affidavit-fbi-search-mar-a-lago-trump-classified-top-secret-documents/7898546001/
Maybe espionage is a good thing. I don’t have the answers. And that makes it hard to see what separates Democrats and Republicans.
President Joe Biden speaks about protecting and conserving America's iconic outdoor spaces on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.
Racism in 2022: Are we for or against?
On the one hand, Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently went on a racist tirade, saying Black people are “the people who do the crime,” and in the week that followed, not a public word of condemnation bubbled up from the elected members of the Republican Party.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/10/kanye-west-anti-semitic-tommy-tuberville-racist-reparation-marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-huppke/8232560001/
www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/11/tuberville-racist-remarks-republicans-silent-outrage/10466174002/
MINDEN, NEVADA - OCTOBER 08: U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) looks on during a campaign rally at Minden-Tahoe Airport on October 08, 2022 in Minden, Nevada. Former U.S. President Donald Trump held a campaign style rally for Nevada GOP candidates ahead of the state's midterm election on November 8th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
On the other hand, leaked audio of three Democrats on the Los Angeles City Council engaged in a racist and crude conversation was met by immediate calls for their resignations from Democrats across the country, including President Biden. One council member, Nury Martinez, resigned Wednesday.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/11/los-angeles-city-council-racist-remarks-nury-martinez/10464682002/
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/12/los-angeles-city-council-racist-audio-meeting-tensions/10476195002/
Is accepting flagrant racism in the year 2022 good, or is it better to emphatically reject it? You got me on that one. It’s a real head-scratcher.
GOP must rebuke racist remarks: Kanye West, Tommy Tuberville and the antisemitic, racist weekend
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/10/kanye-west-anti-semitic-tommy-tuberville-racist-reparation-marjorie-taylor-greene-trump-huppke/8232560001/
Tucker Carlson stuck with Kanye, but Democrats did not do that
Adding to the confusion, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, arguably the most influential media figure in Republican circles, spent a good part of last week propping up rapper and Trump supporter Kanye West, then went quiet as a mouse after West tweeted he was “going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/10/11/conservative-media-impact-republicans-future-conservatism/10396044002/
www.mediaite.com/tv/tucker-carlson-continues-to-boost-kanye-west-after-rappers-anti-semitic-tweet/
On the flip side, no influential media figure in Democratic circles did that, so…puh-tay-toe, puh-tah-toe, right?
Supporting Alex Jones seems bad...
On Wednesday, a jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to eight families of Sandy Hook shooting victims who for years were mercilessly harassed by Jones and his followers over the baseless claim the shooting was a hoax.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/10/12/alex-jones-verdict-jury-orders-965-million-sandy-hook-lies/10479732002/
InfoWars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court during his trial on September 21, 2022 in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Jones is being sued by several victims' families for causing emotional and psychological harm after they lost their children in the Sandy Hook massacre. A Texas jury last month ordered Jones to pay $49.3 million to the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, one of 26 students and teachers killed in the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
A sitting Republican congresswoman, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, came to Jones’ defense on Twitter, calling the verdict “a political persecution” and writing: “No matter what you think of Alex Jones all he did was speak words.”
Alex Jones finally faces consequences: Hateful lies have to come with a cost.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/08/04/alex-jones-verdict-sandy-hook-lies/10234922002/
Charlie Kirk, head of the prominent Republican student organization Turning Point USA, also overlooked Jones’ years of verbal savagery, writing on Twitter that the verdict was about Democrats controlling speech: “This is about sending a message: If you upset the Regime, they will destroy you, completely and utterly, forever.”
www.yahoo.com/now/voices-republicans-support-bully-liar-221725867.html
...but Biden was once nice to his son
Defending Jones seems pretty horrendous, but earlier in the week, Fox News’ Sean Hannity aired a 2018 voicemail Biden left for his son, Hunter Biden, who was struggling with drug addiction. Biden said: “It’s Dad. I called to tell you I love you. I love you more than the whole world, pal. You gotta get some help. I know you don’t know what to do. I don’t either.”
www.yahoo.com/news/fox-news-scorched-grotesque-personal-035630013.html
President Joe Biden hugs his son Hunter Biden and members of the Biden family after the 2021 Presidential Inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol.
So members of one party were coddling a man whose rhetoric caused parents who lost children in a school shooting to suffer untold additional pain. BUT, the other party’s president was a kind and loving dad who tried to help his struggling son. A real toss-up there, if I’m being honest. It’s one of those “six of one, one-half-dozen of the other” situations.
Republican Party needs a rebrand: If the GOP is ready to rebrand amid Trump's woes, here are my ideas for a post-MAGA party
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/09/01/donald-trump-maga-rebrand-huppke/7946078001/
Tricky to figure out the difference between Democrats and Republicans
It’s clear voters have a tough choice in the midterms. Both parties have serious flaws, ranging from fully embracing racism and espionage to not doing either of those things.
How in the heck are voters supposed to know which one is best?
More humor and satire from Rex Huppke:
Lizzo plays James Madison's crystal flute while racists play dog whistles
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/09/29/lizzo-flute-james-madison-racist-history-huppke/8125708001/
Sen. Lindsey Graham mansplains abortion ban: 'I picked 15 weeks.' Got it, ladies?
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/09/13/lindsey-graham-federal-abortion-ban-gop-midterms-huppke/10368808002/
What Trump and his wannabes did in one weekend should scare us all.
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2022/10/03/donald-trump-death-wish-mitch-mcconnell-elaine-chao-marjorie-taylor-greene-killing-huppke/8164744001/
Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on Twitter @rexhuppke and Facebook: facebook.com/RexIsAJerk
You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gets subpoena from Jan 6 committee while Biden visits Tacos 1986
www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2022/10/14/trump-subpoena-january-6-committee-republican-democrat-differences/10492809002/