The impeachment inquiry that Marge built

I’m excited to join Mission: Democracy. This is personal to me. Let me explain.

I come from the world of MAGA/Trumpism. I’m a former Republican Congressman, I was one of the faces of the Tea Party movement, I voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and then I became a very well-known right-wing media figure. I helped elect Trump, and I helped give birth to MAGA.

And then five years ago, I left MAGA and turned against Trump. Because I realized clearly what it was (an authoritarian-embracing, truth-denying cult) and where it was going (a movement to try to end our democracy). Five years later, this is where we are. MAGA has become the ruling force in today’s Republican Party. It is a radicalized movement that has given up on democracy, denies basic truths, embraces authoritarianism, and intends to destroy its political opponents. This is what MAGA leaders and voters tell me every day.

It must be defeated. And the only way to do that is to rally the majority of us who are not MAGA—whether Democrat, independent liberal, Republican, or independent conservative—in common cause to defeat the MAGA philosophy. And the only way to rally that type of coalition is to very publicly take the fight right to MAGA and very publicly call MAGA out for the fascist movement it is.

This is the mission of Mission: Democracy. As a reformed MAGA gangbanger, I’m excited to be a part of this fight, and I’m uniquely positioned to help win this fight.

I helped create this movement. It’s my mission now to defeat it. And to preserve our democracy. And to get us back to a world where we have at least two functioning political parties debating policy issues, with BOTH firmly on the side of democracy. —Joe Walsh, Political Director, Mission: Democracy

Why work when you can impeach?

It’s a known fact on the Hill that the Republicans’ impeachment inquiry against President Biden, launched on Tuesday on the flimsiest of premises, is pretty much all Marjorie Taylor Greene’s doing. On Biden’s first day in office, the MAGA congresswoman announced that she was filing articles of impeachment against him, and she’s invested a significant amount of her time in Congress figuring out how to make it happen. The deal House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck with the MAGA flank of his party to win his position in January played right into her strategy. As the White House said in response to McCarthy’s inquiry announcement, “McCarthy is being told by Marjorie Taylor Greene to do impeachment, or else she’ll shut down the government.”

The White House is getting some support from an unexpected source: Rep. Ken Buck, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. Buck has accused McCarthy of using “impeachment theater” to try to distract Republicans from the fact that the government will likely need to increase its budget in order to avoid a shutdown. He also slammed Greene’s “absurd” impeachment obsession. “I haven’t heard an accurate fact in conference in a long time,” Buck said. “I’m not going to waste my time.”

• Impeachment inquiry shows Kevin McCarthy is a hostage in his own House —The Daily Beast

• Jim Jordan pulls a McCarthy, flip-flops on impeachment inquiry vote —Yahoo News

• Matt Gaetz threatens McCarthy with daily attempt to remove him as speaker —Axios

• The core of the GOP’s Biden impeachment inquiry was already debunked by the Trump impeachment inquiry —Media Matters for America

• Trump has been privately encouraging GOP lawmakers to impeach Biden —The New York Times

Birds of a feather

Donald Trump has been laying on the demagoguery pretty thick lately. At a rally in South Dakota last weekend and a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump once again is playing the victim, calling the criminal and civil cases against him “unconstitutional” and a “scam.” His old pal Vladimir Putin is even weighing in, saying at the Eastern Economic Forum that “everything that is happening with Trump is the persecution of a political rival for political reasons.” As CNN’s Stephen Collinson writes: “Trump is a highly skilled demagogue whose facility for injecting falsehoods and conspiracies into the country’s political bloodstream creates a swirl of chaos and acrimony in which he alone seems to prosper.” Indeed.

• Special counsel asks court for ‘narrow’ restrictions on Trump’s statements —The Washington Post

• Twitter turned over at least 32 direct messages from Trump’s account to special counsel —CNN

• Court blocks Jack Smith’s access to many of Rep. Scott Perry’s contacts about 2020 election —POLITICO

• Trump lawyers seek recusal of judge in DC presiding over federal election subversion case —Associated Press

• Georgia judge shuts down DA’s effort to try Trump and co-defendants together —CNN

Preparing for 2024

A warning issued by the Department of Homeland Security this week isn’t surprising, but it’s concerning nevertheless. "In 2024, we expect the threat of violence from violent extremists radicalized in the United States will remain high," DHS said in its annual U.S. threat assessment. Domestic violent extremists “will continue to be inspired and motivated by a mix of conspiracy theories; personalized grievances; and enduring racial, ethnic, religious, and anti-government ideologies, often shared online," the DHS report said.

During next year's election, the report continues, these extremists may also “seek to disrupt electoral processes.” DHS warned of possible violence or threats against government officials, voters, and election officials. To counter these concerns, an ad hoc committee of elections experts has issued a list of recommendations for protecting election workers, ensuring candidate concessions, and other efforts to enhance public confidence.

• The Briefing: Avoiding a repeat of the 2020 election attacks —Brennan Center for Justice

• The growing threat of Republican election vigilantes —Democracy Docket

• Wisconsin Republicans vote to fire elections director, who may not leave the job —The Washington Post

What the heck is happening in Wisconsin?

There’s something sketchy going on in the Badger State. Here’s an excellent explainer from Mike McCabe of More Verb Than Noun:

“Wisconsin GOP leaders are plotting to impeach recently elected state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz before she hears a single case. … Republicans [will] use their overwhelming majority gained through partisan gerrymandering to impeach Protasiewicz in the legislature’s lower house. But then the upper house—controlled by a Republican supermajority—[will] not do its part to remove her, leaving her in office but impeached and thus prohibited under the state Constitution from participating in and voting on court decisions, while also denying Democratic Gov. Tony Evers the opportunity to appoint her replacement.

Wisconsin Republicans claim Protasiewicz has no business acting on cases involving abortion and legislative district maps because she has conflicts of interest on those issues. That claim was dealt a serious blow recently when the state’s judicial ethics commission dismissed multiple complaints after finding no evidence of misconduct, clearing Protasiewicz of conflict-of-interest charges. Grounds for impeachment are undercut further by the fact that GOP leaders have had no problem with Republican-backed justices ruling on cases when they’ve done the equivalent of what Protasiewicz is now condemned for doing.”

• A member of the secret panel studying Wisconsin Supreme Court justice’s impeachment backed her rival —Associated Press

• Lawsuit: Potential Janet Protasiewicz impeachment illegal —Wisconsin State Journal

Here’s what else happened this week:

• UAW strike begins at plants owned by Ford, Stellantis, and GM —The Washington Post

• U.S. announces new Iran sanctions as prisoner swap looms —Al Jazeera

• Russia-North Korea summit: ‘Comrades’ Putin and Kim send rivals a warning —Reuters

• Tyre Nichols case: Police involved in death indicted on federal charges —NPR

• Jury clears 3 men in the last trial tied to the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer —Associated Press

One more thing…

MAGA Rep. Lauren Boebert was escorted out of a Denver theater on Sunday night after several people seated near her in the audience complained she was creating a disturbance. In an incident report, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts said it had to remove two guests from a performance of the musical Beetlejuice for violating viewing policies. Boebert outed herself as one of the guests in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. MAGA extremists don’t think the rules apply to them—even in social situations. Colorado’s 3rd District deserves better representation.

Still fighting for Afghan allies

It’s been two years since the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, and a bipartisan group of U.S. House members is still fighting to get allies the resources and support they need. “We aren’t going to let this go,” Republican Rep. Michael Waltz said. “We aren’t going to forget. And to our Afghan allies who may be still out there: We’re with you, and we’re going to do everything we can to fight.” The group is working to pass the bipartisan Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a path to permanent U.S. status for allies evacuated from the country as the U.S. withdrew. “This bill—this long overdue effort—is about having the backs of the people who had ours when we were overseas,” said Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson. “It’s not partisan.”—POLITICO

It’s nice to get reminders that, at its best, government can still work for the public interest. Share a story of hope from your community for a future issue of Democracy Defender. Please include your name and state with your submission. Thank you!

Mitt to bid farewell

“I think it’s of paramount importance to maintain our commitment to the Constitution and the liberal constitutional order. And I know that there are some in MAGA world who would like Republican rule, or authoritarian rule by Donald Trump. But I think they may be forgetting that the majority of people in America would not be voting for Donald J. Trump.” —Sen. Mitt Romney in Washington Post interview, in which he announced that he will not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate, September 13, 2023

• What Mitt Romney saw in the Senate —The Atlantic

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