Ever more extreme

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A notorious Hungarian racist who has called Jews “stinking excrement”, referred to Roma as “animals” and used racial epithets to describe Black people, was a featured speaker at a major gathering of US Republicans in Budapest. Zsolt Bayer took the stage at the second day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Hungary, a convention that also featured speeches from Donald Trump, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. The last featured speaker of the conference was Jack Posobiec, a far-right US blogger who has used antisemitic symbols and promoted the fabricated “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory smearing prominent Democrats as pedophiles.

Trump shares CPAC Hungary platform with notorious racist and antisemite | Hungary | The Guardian

Hungary’s nationalist leader, Viktor Orbán, will be the star speaker at an extraordinary session of America’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to be held in Hungary this week, in an effort to cement bonds between the radical right on both sides of the Atlantic under the banner of the “great replacement” ideology. In a speech on Monday, Orbán made explicit reference to the ideology, which claims there is a liberal plot to dilute the white populations of the US and European countries through immigration. Increasingly widespread among US Republicans, the creed was cited by the killer who opened fire on Saturday in a supermarket in a predominantly black area of Buffalo, New York.

Orbán and US right to bond at Cpac in Hungary over ‘great replacement’ ideology | Viktor Orbán | The Guardian

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Ron DeSantis, who proclaimed. "America is in decline." GOP candidates discussed the economy while completely ignoring the fact inflation is easing, unemployment remains historically low, and job growth remains strong... 

Surprisingly, the second question was from a young person asking how the candidates will calm young people’s fears that Republicans don’t care about climate change. DeSantis was first up and deflected. Vivek Ramaswamy falsely, and confidently, said climate change is a hoax.

The first debate saw GOP candidates fight among themselves in the Extremism Olympics | The Independent

Wednesday’s exercise in frustration at the Fiserv Forum revealed a GOP that is only a shadow of its pre-Trump self. Americans would be hard pressed to find a single serious policy mind in the bunch, save perhaps former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who seemed completely out of place amid her colleagues’ incoherent pledges to invade Mexico (Gov. Ron DeSantis), end foreign aid to Israel (Vivek Ramaswamy) and fire between 10 and 75 percent of non-defense federal workers (DeSantis, Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence). In place of any meaningful policy discussion stood the Republican Party’s new export commodity: cultural grievance.

The Trump-less GOP debate was a mess — and Democrats are smiling | The Hill

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What is extraordinary is that as extreme as Mike Johnson is, the vote was unanimous. Not one Republican voted against him, despite the role that he played in the coup attempt. The reason why [Majority Whip] Tom Emmer (R-IN) is not the speaker, and Mike Johnson is, is because Tom Emmer voted to certify [President] Joe Biden's win and Mike Johnson was one of the leaders of the coup attempt. Not just a guarantee variety election denialist, but as you just played, somebody who was spreading the kinds of lies that cost Fox [News] so much money, and that [ex-Trump lawyers] Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell are now admitting in Georgia courtrooms were lies, were part of a criminal conspiracy to overturn the election. By the way, how about this, for a split screen: They are — they are pleading guilty to criminal offenses for saying and doing the same things that Mike Johnson has now used as a ladder to rise to the speakership. But keep in mind, though, that this dysfunction in the Republican party is going to continue. It was, to quote Joe Biden, are a very much an inflection point, and no joke. Every single Republican voted for one of their most extreme members and somebody who played a rather extraordinarily deplorable role in attempt to overturn the 2020 election."

'Extraordinarily deplorable': Analyst slams GOP over 'Kraken level Big Lie' speaker choice - Alternet.org

In a now-viral video, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) — the fourth speaker designate from the House Republican Conference since the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) — declined to answer a question about his refusal to certify the results of the 2020 election on January 6, 2021. Perhaps more alarmingly, his Republican colleagues booed the reporter who asked the question and even told her to "shut up." "Mr. Johnson, you helped lead the efforts to overturn the 2020 election," the reporter said before being drowned out by the House Republican Conference's boos and jeers. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who himself dropped out of the speaker's race after failing to capture 217 Republican votes, can be seen saying "next question." "Shut up! Shut up!" Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) yelled at the reporter.

'Shut up!' Republicans boo reporter for asking Mike Johnson about role in Jan. 6 - Alternet.org

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Rather than provide humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US should ensure it is subjected to atomic bombing the way that “Nagasaki and Hiroshima” were at the end of the second world war, a Republican congressman said in shocking remarks that by all indications were recorded recently at a gathering with a relatively small group of his constituents.

Congressman rebuked for call to bomb Gaza ‘like Nagasaki and Hiroshima’ | Michigan | The Guardian