Republican Party

The Brainwashing Scene (1974)

Something about this film scene comes straight out of Donald Trump - Take Back America propaganda film I posted earlier. The same kind of psychological trickery, fast flashing photos and films, dramatic music. I could see how it would excite a crowd.

Voters shift to preferring Republicans over Democrats : NPR

Gallup: Voters shift to preferring Republicans over Democrats : NPR

A new Gallup analysis examined how Americans' partisan preferences shifted over the course of the year 2021, with findings that indicate momentum for Republicans heading into this midterm election year.

Gallup found that Americans' partisan preferences were relatively stable when looking at the entire year 2021. But when the year was broken down into quarters, there was a discernible shift. In the first quarter of 2021, Democrats had a 9-point advantage over Republicans, but by the final quarter of the year that had shifted sharply to a 5-point Republican advantage, according to Gallup's aggregate data.

 

Donald John Trump signs

While I’m no fan of Donald Trump, I have to admire the homemade roadside signs and displays you see in favor of his candidacy along rural road sides.

There is something neat about home painted signs or even displays like that of a model Donald Trump riding a snowmobile in North Brookfield, NY or riding a fake missile in Bald Eagle, Penna. It’s just piles of junk bolted together but it shows creativity and passion, far more than just store bought political sign placed on a lawn briefly before chucked in a burn barrel or sent to the landfill.

‘Dark Money’ Is Threatening The Elections Of 2020, 2024 : NPR

Jane Mayer: ‘Dark Money’ Is Threatening The Elections Of 2020, 2024 : NPR

New Yorker writer Jane Mayer says the Arizona audit is an unprecedented undertaking, with potentially explosive consequences for American democracy.

Mayer notes that although the audit appears to be the work of local extremists, it's actually being funded by sophisticated national organizations whose boards of directors include some of the country's wealthiest and highest-profile conservatives.

NPR

Trump Organization, CFO Allen Weisselberg Are Charged With Tax Crimes : NPR

Former President Donald Trump's family business and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, have been charged by the Manhattan district attorney's office in a case involving an array of alleged tax-related crimes.

In an indictment unsealed Thursday, prosecutors allege that starting from as early as 2005 and up until last month, the Trump Organization and Weisselberg have committed tax fraud and falsified business records as part of a scheme to compensate executives at the Trump Organization "off the books." The goal, prosecutors claim, was to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes by compensating employees with lavish perks in addition to their regular pay.

Weisselberg allegedly received indirect compensation — including housing expenses, home furnishings and leases for two Mercedes-Benz automobiles — with a total value of around $1.76 million and is accused of evading more than $901,000 in federal, state and local taxes combined. Private school tuition for two of Weisselberg's family members, according to the indictment, was paid with personal checks signed by Trump. Weisselberg, an employee of the Trump Organization since 1973, is also alleged to have arranged for various Trump businesses to make payments to him and to other executives as independent contractors, conferring tax benefits on retirement accounts.

How GOP State Legislatures Are Remaking the Country – The Atlantic

How GOP State Legislatures Are Remaking the Country – The Atlantic

Though this year’s proliferation of bills restricting ballot access in red states has commanded national attention, it represents just one stream in a torrent of conservative legislation poised to remake the country. GOP-controlled states—including Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Iowa, and Montana—have advanced their most conservative agenda in years, and one that reflects Donald Trump’s present stamp on the Republican Party.