BONUS: What's Moscow Marge's Position On Circumcision?
Is Russia thinking of MAGA Mayk Siti (МАГА Майк Сити) as the new name for Kramatorsk, the Ukrainian city the Republicans are basically handing over to Putin in time for Moscow’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations. Warmer weather and the Trump-MAGA Mayk sabotage of Ukrainian aid has allowed Russian forces to launch an aggressive push along the front lines in the industrial eastern part of the country.
Instead of taking up the bipartisan Senate aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, MAGA Mayk plans to present Israel-only bills on the house floor, in line with Trump’s latest dictates. Early yesterday, Jake Sherman, Andrew Desiderio and John Bresnahan reported that MAGA Mayk isn’t finding it easy to balance global security, election-year politics and a desire to save his job. “After the first-ever direct attack on Israel by Iran, most of official Washington is calling on Johnson to immediately put the $95 billion Senate-passed foreign aid bill on the House floor. But to do so could cost Johnson the speaker’s gavel because the measure includes tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine. For months, Johnson has put off consideration of aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a decision borne of political expediency, the need to tamp down intra-party fighting and to keep his speakership alive.Yet reality has smacked the Louisiana Republican in the face, forcing him to make a series of extremely difficult decisions under intense pressure.”
When it comes to aid to Ukraine the trio of Punch Bowl reporters wrote that “Johnson effectively has two choices.” He can put the Senate bill on the floor (and Biden Schumer and Jeffries will allow some “token Republican wins, pre-cooked with the White House” to make him look good) and “to insulate him from far-right critics... It’s far from clear to us that two-thirds of the House would support the Senate bill— the threshold Johnson would need to reach to clear the package. Johnson cannot move this under a rule. It wouldn’t fly.” And if MAGA Mike even puts it on the floor, Moscow Marge will immediately active her motion to vacate the chair. Let me come back to that in a second. First, option number two:
“Johnson can move an Israel-only aid package. We’re told that this is where he’s leaning. Johnson can probably— not definitely, but probably— pass this through the House. But this could signal that any hope for Ukraine aid is dead [exactly what Trump is demanding]. Johnson has given assurances to donors, colleagues, the White House and world leaders that he’s supportive of Ukraine.”
And that brings us to the Tom Suozzi OpEd in the Wall Street Journal, Democrats, Support Speaker Johnson, something probably approved in advance by Jeffries (and the White House?). Suozzi just spent a week in Ukraine, Poland and Moldova. “Ukraine,” he wrote, “faces a new Russian offensive with insufficient ammunition. My first social-media post reporting on our trip was greeted with a flood of hostility and propaganda, I suspect mostly generated by Russian bots, including a doctored photo of me wearing a Nazi armband. On my return to Washington, I was greeted by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s newest threats to remove Speaker Mike Johnson if he brings to the floor a bill to aid Ukraine. Democrats and Republicans must join together to save Ukraine and stop the disinformation campaigns promulgated by Vladimir Putin and furthered by Greene.”
The Russians have killed more than 100,000 Ukrainians, kidnapped more than 20,000 children, and chased more than 10 million Ukrainians from their homes. Mr. Putin’s goal is to push Russia’s borders farther west, to control Ukraine’s substantial agricultural exports and natural resources, and to destabilize Europe’s and the world’s democracies. In addition to Russia’s substantial military might, Putin and our other strategic adversaries have employed a decades-long disinformation campaign using social media and state-controlled media to get Americans fighting among ourselves.
According to leading Republicans, Greene is parroting Russia’s propaganda. House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner said this week: “We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages— some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.” Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul said this propaganda has “infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”
…Putin didn’t invent American partisanship, but his lies and propaganda have fed it, giving rise to extremists like Greene, who would rather America do nothing with democracy on the line. This fight isn’t only about Ukraine. Russia seeks to tear apart the fragile fabric of international order, end American prominence in Europe, destroy the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and end the era of American-style democracy. America must stop Mr. Putin before our men and women in uniform are forced to defend NATO soil.
Republicans in the House must listen to their intelligence chairman and follow the lead of the Senate, which passed a $95.3 billion foreign-aid bill in a bipartisan 70-29 vote. Meanwhile, Democrats can’t just wait for Republicans to work with us. That’s why when Greene introduced her proposal to remove Speaker Johnson, I announced that I will support him if he does his job.
Democrats must offer Speaker Johnson our votes to save democracy in Ukraine and here. We can’t let our partisan instincts get in our way. We must work with Republicans to disarm Mr. Putin’s puppet, get a vote to support Ukraine, and defeat Russian disinformation. Our democracy is at stake.
It’s worth noting that Marjorie Traitor Greene and other Russo-Republicans in Congress— senators like Vance and Tuberville are getting off lightly while Moscow Marge takes the heat— aren’t the only ones the Kremlin has gotten to. Last week we introduced Latvian member of the European Parliament and Russian spy, Tatjana Ždanoka and yesterday, Erika Solomon reported that Germany has it’s problems with the far right’s affinity to Moscow as well.
Germany’s neo-Nazi party, the AfD is basically a subsidized affiliate of the Kremlin and intel has been flowing from Berlin to Moscow via AfD headquarters. “‘The AfD keeps acting like the long arm of the terrorist state Russia,’ Roderich Kiesewetter, the deputy head of the Parliament’s intelligence committee and a member of the center-right Christian Democrats, wrote on social media. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Europe has struggled to fend off influence operations by Moscow aimed at weakening Western unity and resolve. The worries extend beyond eavesdropping and spying to include Moscow’s ties to political parties, especially on the far right, which are proving to be useful tools for the Kremlin. In Germany and elsewhere, that alarm is only growing ahead of elections for the European Parliament in June, as many of these parties are expected to have their best showings ever. The AfD, which is against weapons deliveries to Ukraine and calls for an end to sanctions on Russia, is not only vying to become the second-strongest German party in European parliamentary elections. It is poised to become the leading force in three eastern state elections in Germany this autumn. That gives the AfD the possibility, albeit still unlikely, that it could take control of a state government. ‘This would be a whole new situation with regards to Russia, where the people making propaganda, passing information, could also actually be in power,’ said Martina Renner, a lawmaker from the Left party, who sits on the Parliament’s domestic security committee.”
Germany has 96 seats in the European Parliament, 11 of which are held by the Nazis. Some of the new Nazi platform:
Ultra-nationalism and Euro-skepticism
Ban on circumcision and on kosher and halal food (anti-Semiticism and Islamophobia)
Anti-immigrant
Anti-multiculturism
Anti-same sex marriage
Climate change denial
Militarization of Germany through conscription of all able-bodied men at 18 years old
Anyone know if Moscow Marge has taken a position on circumcision? Reportedly, she was the regional expert on male genitalia when she was trying to lure customers into her CrossFit gym in Alpharetta before she discovered QAnon and Donald Trump. Her husband divorced her for serially ignoring the 7th commandment.
UPDATE: MAGA Mike Finally Unveils His Plan For National Security Spending
Last night, at a closed door GOP meeting, MAGA Mike announced he’ll put 4 separate spending bills on the floor, which will be introduced under one rule, one for Israel, one for Ukraine, one for Taiwan and one that deals with TikTok and for seizing Russian assets, but nothing about the border. This should be a complete mess and result in Moscow Marge trying to dump him— likely to fail, but not before causing more chaos and dysfunction.
UPDATE II: Moscow Marge Has A Supporter
Kentucky Republican crackpot Thomas Massie says he’ll cosponsor Marjorie Traitor Greene’s motion to vacate the chair. He's demanding MAGA Mike "pre-announce" his resignation. Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team probably can’t believe life can be so good!
