The Republicans are incapable of governing

Talking to Congressman Chris Deluzio, trying to figure out the fog of war, and more

Sorting out the chaos

There is a lot going on. In this newsletter we discuss my conversation with Congressman Chris Deluzio about the craziness in the House, my perspective on the news out of Gaza on a hospital bombing, and our next Paid Subscribers Zoom event coming on Tuesday.

Chaos here and abroad

There really is no other way to describe what is happening on Capitol Hill than a complete breakdown of the Republican Party that many of us said was coming. But, I have to be honest, I honestly didn’t think it would be this bad when I predicted it on election night last year. I thought they would be able to do the basic stuff at at least.

Someone compared selecting a Speaker of the House to signing the SAT. It’s the one easy part you can’t get wrong. As it turns out, the House Republicans can’t even do that as we enter into our third week without an elected leader at the podium and no end in sight to their fighting.

Bullying and threats

The backlash to Jordan’s leadership is in large part to the methodology that so many of us have witnessed personally over the last 8 years from the MAGA movement. The followers resort to threats of violence and harassment to achieve their goals. Many in the Republican Party were content to look the other way and hope they were never placed in the crosshairs of the madness but Jordan’s rise has forced them out of hiding and they are experiencing what many others have for years.

We are reading of text messages to Republican House members wives, threats against their families, and Colorado’s Ken Buck reported that his district office at home is being evicted by the owner who disagreed with his vote against Jordan. All because they didn’t support a man who has never passed a single piece of legislation in 16 years.

I’d love to say I feel sorry for them but we have been saying this was coming. For those of us who have been placed in the crosshairs by the MAGA movement in our own lives its hard to rally any sympathy. I had my house address published, zip code blanketed with mailers attacking my organization, a series of attack articles fed to a far right news outlet, and regular death threats via social media and email. All because we dared to oppose Donald Trump.

Welcome to the finding out phase of what many of us predicted would come.

Just doing the people’s business

Congressman Chris Deluzio is a Naval Academy graduate and veteran of Iraq having served as a Civil Affairs officer on the ground there in a role similar to one I filled in 2003. He knows the responsibility of government and ran for office to serve the people of his district. In 9 months on Capitol Hill he’s barely gotten a chance as the chaos of the Republican leadership has made it all but impossible.

He joined the show from the Capitol to discuss the frustration they all feel but state clearly that the Democrats are more than happy to work with the Republicans to find a meaningful governing agreement. They just have to ask.

They haven’t asked. They haven’t reached out. They haven’t even tried.

Misinformation kills

After my discussion with Congressman Deluzio I also wanted to discuss the recent news out of Gaza and how dangerous misinformation can be. Hamas reported that Israel had purposely struck a hospital and killed over 500 people just as President Biden was preparing to fly to the region.

The news sent a shockwave around the world as hundreds of thousands of angry Palestinian supporters flooded the streets around the world in protest. A mosque in Tunisia was burned to the ground, embassies were attacked, and Biden’s meeting with Arab leaders was canceled.

It was all a lie. The hospital parking lot was struck by an errant rocket fired from a cemetery by either Hamas or another militant group. It took two days for the Israelis and others to make that clear even though Al-Jazeera had a live feed of the incident running when it occurred.

Shockingly many Americans took Hamas at their word and ran with the story to include elected officials and Democratic members of Congress even. All based on the word of the terrorist group that slaughtered over a thousand people in their homes and at an EDM festival just last week.

I discuss the incident and my experience with the fog of war and trying to discern the truth on the show. I hope you’ll check it out.

The Show

Congressman Chris Deluzio

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Congressman Chris Deluzio lives in Aspinwall with his family and is currently serving his first term in Congress representing Pennsylvania’s 17th district.

An Iraq War veteran, Naval Academy graduate, voting rights attorney, and union organizer, Congressman Deluzio was commissioned as an active-duty surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy and deployed three times, including a tour of duty as a U.S. Army Civil Affairs Officer in Iraq.

After returning from Iraq, Congressman Deluzio received his law degree from Georgetown Law and clerked for a federal judge. He went on to work at the Brennan Center for Justice on the Voting Rights and Election Security teams and later worked at Pitt Cyber. He was part of the Pitt Faculty Organizing Committee with the United Steelworkers, fighting successfully for a union.

The latest news

House Speaker: It looks like Jim Jordan isn’t done being humiliated as its being reported he will go for a third vote sometime today. Jordan faces third House speaker vote amid continuing chaos

Hospital Explosion: New York Times has a report from U.S. officials that the death toll does range possibly in the 100-300 range while Hamas insists it was over 500. They insist on maintaining the both sides argument of what caused the explosion. U.S. Intelligence Agencies Give Lower Estimate for Gaza Hospital Toll

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I did an analysis of the Virginia election this week and how important it is.

Next Zoom for Paid Subscribers!

I will be sending out an invite to Paid Subscribers today for our next ‘Ask Me Anything’ Zoom this Tuesday, October 24th at 7:00 PM ET. Look for your email invite today!

I’m looking forward to chatting with everyone! There is a lot to talk about.

Thank you for being part of this community.

Best,
Fred