July 24, 2018

Republicans Debate “Owning the Libs”

Luiz Rampelotto/Europanewswire/DPA via ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Let’s take a little tour of the Republican leadership on this fine morning. First up, here’s UN ambassador Nikki Haley:

Haley asked high-schoolers attending a Turning Point USA summit at George Washington University whether they had “posted anything online to quote-unquote ‘own the libs,’ ” according to the Hill….The students reportedly raised their hands en masse and roared. But then Haley went a different direction. “I know that it’s fun and that it can feel good, but step back and think about what you’re accomplishing when you do this — are you persuading anyone? Who are you persuading?”

That’s nice. Now let’s look in on Attorney General Jeff Sessions:

“Too many schools are coddling our young people and actively preventing them from scrutinizing the validity of their beliefs and the issues of the day,” he said. “That is the exact opposite of what we expect from universities in our country.”…“I can tell this group isn’t going to have to have Play-Doh when you get attacked in college and you get involved in a debate,” Sessions said. “You’re going to stand up and defend yourselves and the values that you believe in. I like this bunch, I can tell you. You’re not going to be backing down. Go get ’em! Go get ’em!”

The crowd, which had erupted into a “lock her up” chant earlier, began the chant again. “Lock her up,” Sessions chuckled. The chants continued, and he added, “I heard that a long time over the last campaign.”

Here’s House Speaker Paul Ryan:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday played down President Trump’s threat to revoke security clearances of former top officials who have criticized him….“I think he’s trolling people, honestly,” Ryan said at a news conference with other House Republican leaders. Ryan said the issue falls under “the purview of the executive branch,” not Congress, before saying again: “I think he’s just trolling people.”

It looks like “owning the libs” wins the morning, 2-1. But who knows? Maybe Haley will have a little talk with her fellow cabinet members and see if she can bring back civility to Washington DC.

I wonder how long Haley can keep this up? Almost uniquely, she’s acquitted herself well as part of Trump’s cabinet, and has avoided even a hint of criticism from Trump himself. I’m not sure how. But it seems like she needs to quit while she’s ahead. Unless she’s discovered a magic beanstalk or something, there’s no way she can avoid being humiliated by Trump forever, can she?

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate