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Today, eight leading civil, human, and immigrant rights organizations are releasing a comprehensive new report dubbed, "The Bigoted Conspiracy Caucus." In it, the groups document a disturbing trend among a faction of the 118th Congress: the normalization and amplification of xenophobic "great replacement" and "invasion" conspiracy theories. This robust report documents the historical roots of these dangerous ideologies and their pervasive promotion by members of Congress, highlighting the urgent need for action.
"Invasion" conspiracy theories depict immigrants as existential threats to American “culture” and “traditions,” fueling rhetoric that implicitly encourages hate-fueled violence. This type of rhetoric feeds into narratives of the "great replacement," a bigoted conspiracy theory that falsely asserts Jews and others are orchestrating the deliberate replacement of white Americans with non-white immigrants. Similarly, "invasion" conspiracies depict immigrants as existential threats to American culture and traditions, fueling rhetoric that implicitly encourages hate-fueled violence.
The report documents how dozens of Members of Congress have actively amplified these conspiracy theories through legislative measures, public statements, and a significant volume of social media activity and press releases. This amplification not only endangers public safety but also contributes to the deterioration of democratic norms and practices.
As we approach the fifth anniversary of the anti-immigrant terrorist attack in El Paso, Texas, that killed 23 people on August 3, 2019, we are reminded of the deadly impact of this rhetoric. The Bigoted Conspiracy Caucus report concludes with a stark warning to Congressional leadership to take immediate and decisive action to address the proliferation of this dangerous conspiracy theory and its harmful effects on society.
Report: https://bigotedconspiracycaucus.org/#homeme
Roll-out video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68p-YbdZT9Y&list=TLGGZOe8sUZFPyowMTA4MjAyNAw.youtube.com/watch?v=68p-YbdZT9Y&list=TLGGZOe8sUZFPyowMTA4MjAyNA
Quotes:
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice: “Members of Congress adopting an anti-democratic conspiracy theory rooted in white nationalism and antisemitism is a serious and urgent problem. As this new report documents, anti-semitism and white nationalism-rooted rhetoric is not an isolated problem, but rather a feature of the 118th Congress. We call on all Members of Congress to denounce and stop using bigoted conspiracies."
“The ‘great replacement’ and ‘invasion’ conspiracies are a danger to individuals, communities, and democracy itself,” said Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, Washington Director of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action. “These lies have inspired violence and mass murder in places such as El Paso, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. But instead of calling out and marginalizing these reckless falsehoods, far too many members of Congress have instead amplified them and brought them into the mainstream for their own cynical gain. It is long past time to hold these elected officials accountable for their recklessness. American Jews will not be silent in the face of this threat not only to our safety, but to the safety of so many communities in our broader American family.
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said, “When lawmakers and other public figures normalize the ‘great replacement’ conspiracy and other extremist ideas – including by attacking immigrant communities to score political points – it leads to deadly violence and directly threatens our communities and our democracy. So much of this extremism is rooted in conspiracies about Jewish power and influence intended to paint immigrants and other communities as pawns of Jewish control. And as we’ve seen in El Paso – in addition to Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, Poway, Buffalo, and beyond – the consequences are tragic. Our leaders in Congress have a responsibility to actively call out and combat this bigotry and extremism to keep our communities safe.”
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) National Government Affairs and Advocacy Director Chris Habiby said, “The normalization by Members of Congress of hate-filled rhetoric based on antisocial conspiracy theories poses a threat to marginalized communities across the United States. These theories, rooted in white nationalism and supremacy, have been driving much of the dangerous action that we have seen come out of the 118th Congress. It is long past time for every elected official, and especially Congressional leadership, to unequivocally reject the use of these bigoted conspiracies by their colleagues and commit to opposing legislation derived from them.”
“HIAS joins our partner organizations in calling out the Members of Congress who regularly spread vicious conspiracy theories about immigrants, said Naomi Steinberg, Vice President, U.S. Policy & Advocacy, HIAS. Invasion and great replacement theory rhetoric, both deeply rooted in white nationalist and antisemitic tropes, are no longer a bug on the Hill, they are a regular feature. It is incumbent upon all of us to speak up to denounce this language every time we hear it and to insist upon good faith, fact-based debates about how to address immigration challenges in the U.S. rather than the dangerous hate slinging that has taken over the immigration debate in the halls of Congress and on campaign trails around the country.”
Lindsay Schubiner, Director of Programs at Western States Center, said, “Bigoted "invasion" rhetoric has fueled violence and mass murder in cities like El Paso, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo. When members of Congress echo this rhetoric, they are elevating the risk of further violence. Western States Center urges members of Congress to denounce and forcefully push back against such hateful rhetoric by their colleagues. Too often, we have seen members spout dangerous, bigoted falsehoods, and rather than immediately being rebuked, condemned, and isolated, these members are welcomed into the mainstream. It's high time we hold these elected officials accountable for their recklessness. The Bigoted Conspiracy Caucus report shows how widespread this type of dangerous rhetoric has become among elected officials and how such ideas are influencing their governance.”
America's Voice -- Harnessing the power of American voices and American values to win common sense immigration reform. The mission of America's Voice is to realize the promise of workable and humane comprehensive immigration reform. Our goal is to build the public support and create the political momentum for reforms that will transform a dysfunctional immigration system that does not work into a regulatory system that does.
"Republicans would rather protect their billionaire friends at the expense of everyone else," said the chair of the Joint Economic Committee.
Budget proposals released by congressional Republicans in recent months lay bare the party's desire to slash taxes for wealthy Americans and large corporations at the expense of key government programs and services, including nutrition assistance, environmental protection, and Medicaid.
That's according to an analysis released Wednesday by Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), which examined budget plans the GOP has released as Congress works to craft and pass government funding bills for the coming fiscal year.
The JEC specifically cites a Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal published in March by the Republican Study Committee, a panel comprised of three-quarters of the House GOP caucus.
The plan, the JEC Democrats noted Wednesday, "claims to balance the budget by cutting Medicare spending, raising the retirement age for Social Security, capping funding for Medicaid and CHIP, and cutting the rest of non-defense discretionary spending by 31% across the board."
"This would drive up health costs for American families by increasing premiums for [Affordable Care Act] healthcare plans and getting rid of protections for people with pre-existing conditions," the new analysis says. "It would also prohibit Medicare from negotiating down prescription drug costs."
A separate proposal from Republicans on the House Budget Committee claims it would finance "large tax cuts for the wealthy by both slashing key services and assuming that their tax giveaways lead to unrealistic levels of economic growth," the Democratic report says.
"Analyzing this budget with more reasonable economic assumptions instead shows that budget would likely require the government to eliminate most federal services within a decade," the report adds.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the chair of the JEC, said in a statement Wednesday that "Republicans' extreme proposals are dangerous for America."
"While Democrats are fighting to invest in families, Republicans would rather protect their billionaire friends at the expense of everyone else," said Heinrich. "Kicking 42 million kids off of health insurance, gutting federal investments in public safety, denying veterans hospital care, and getting rid of [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits that help people afford groceries is unconscionable. Americans deserve better."
The analysis from JEC Democrats comes as Republican nominee Donald Trump attempts to posture as an ally of the working class despite his history of assailing labor protections and backing tax cuts for the rich.
Trump has called for an extension of the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017—changes that overwhelmingly benefited wealthy Americans. An extension of the tax cuts would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit of the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The former president's advisers have also reportedly discussed reducing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, a change that would give the largest 100 U.S. companies a tax cut of $48 billion per year.
Trump has floated proposals that are ostensibly geared toward helping working-class Americans, including exempting tips from taxation—a proposal specifically aimed at hospitality workers—and eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits.
But earlier this week, UNITE HERE—a union that represents hospitality workers—endorsed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris over the Republican candidate, warning that "another Trump presidency would mean four chaotic years of defending against his attacks on unions, working people, immigrants, women, and others."
As for Trump's proposal to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits, an analysis by the Tax Policy Center's Howard Gleckman found that the move would reduce "Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance (HI) revenues by $1.5 trillion over the next decade," harming the programs' finances while providing "little or no benefit" to lower-income households in 2025.
"Less than 1% of the lowest-income households (those making about $33,000 or less, would get any tax cut at all," Gleckman observed. "But about 28% of middle-income households would get a tax cut. Among the top 0.1 percent, about 20 percent of households would get a tax cut."
Gleckman found that "in dollar terms, the biggest winners would be those in the top 0.1% of income, who make nearly $5 million or more."
"One day after Kamala Harris had a packed house in Philadelphia, she is following it up with another packed house in Wisconsin," said one activist.
Holding her second rally in the crucial swing state of Wisconsin since launching her presidential bid, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris was greeted Wednesday by a crowd of people who had waited in mileslong lines of cars to see her and her newly announced running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, speak about their campaign for the White House.
A timelapse video posted on X by Adam Duxter, a reporter for local CBS News affiliate WCCO, showed a long line of people waiting to enter a venue that holds 30,000 in Eau Claire, a city that is represented by a Republican in Congress, as campaign staffer Victor Shi said.
"Holy cow," said Shi. "This energy and enthusiasm are freaking jaw-dropping."
Shi also posted a video of the crowd of tens of thousands of people waiting for Harris and Walz to speak, along with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).
The rally came a day after Harris and Walz appeared in Philadelphia for their first official campaign event together as running mates. Harris' selection of Walz has won praise from labor unions, reproductive rights groups, and climate action organizations, with advocates praising his unapologetic support for universal school meals for public school students, paid family and medical leave, a Minnesota law that codified Roe v. Wade, and legal protections for transgender youths who get gender-affirming healthcare.
"One day after Kamala Harris had a packed house in Philadelphia, she is following it up with another packed house in Wisconsin," said Democratic activist Aaron Parnas. "Folks, a movement is brewing."
A photo by Star Tribune photographer Glen Stubbe showed a long line of cars on a road leading to the venue, and KSTP reporter Eric Chaloux filmed a line that began two and a half miles away from the venue.
In late July, days after President Joe Biden announced he was stepping aside in the 2024 election and endorsed Harris, under pressure from Democratic leaders and donors, Harris held her first campaign event in Milwaukee, speaking to a packed auditorium at West Allis Central High School at an event that showed a stark contrast to Biden's events, including a debate in late June where his performance intensified concerns about his age and health.
The crowded venue in Eau Claire and lines that started forming hours before the rally on Wednesday exemplified what one observer called "2008-level enthusiasm among Democrats right now."
Harris and Walz are planning to make stops in North Carolina's Research Triangle; Savannah, Georgia; Phoenix; and Las Vegas during a battleground state tour in the coming days.
"Etsy isn't simply turning a blind eye to stores listed on its site operating in illegal Israeli settlements—it is directly profiting from and even in certain cases, promoting them," said one campaigner.
Etsy, the popular U.S.-based e-commerce website, is profiting from goods made and sold in Israel's illegal settler colonies in the occupied West Bank, a report published Wednesday revealed.
"Under the radar, Etsy—the popular online platform for selling and buying artisanal and vintage items, with a mission to 'keep commerce human'—has been profiting from businesses with shops in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT)," states the briefing, which was published by the Institute for Journalism and Social Change (IJSC), Global Justice Now, and War on Want.
"It's time to bring an end to this shameless corporate profiteering."
"This briefing reveals, for the first time, how Etsy hosts numerous shops that explicitly name as their locations places that are considered illegal Israeli settlements by the [United Nations] and under international law—and as recently confirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its ruling in July," the publication continues.
The ICJ's nonbinding advisory opinion affirmed that "the policies and practices of Israel in the OPT amount to apartheid."
Report author Claire Provost said that "Western complicity in Israeli war crimes is so pervasive that even Etsy, the popular platform for 'feel-good' shopping, is connected to businesses in the settlements."
"So far these ties have gone under the radar and unchallenged," added Provost, IJSC's co-founder and co-director. "That, at least, ends now."
Global Justice Now director Nick Dearden said that "Etsy isn't simply turning a blind eye to stores listed on its site operating in illegal Israeli settlements—it is directly profiting from and even in certain cases, promoting them."
"Doing so risks complicity in war crimes—and the reality is, they're not the only company profiting from the human misery inflicted on Palestinians day in, day out," he added. "It's time to bring an end to this shameless corporate profiteering."
Etsy charges listing and transaction fees. It also offers seller advertising for an additional fee. "Star sellers" are highlighted to prospective buyers. At least four star sellers—including one that had over 12,000 sales as of late July—specifically list illegal Israeli settlements as their locations.
The report identifies 14 Etsy stores located in the Ariel settlement, nine in Maale Adumim, and four in Tekoa.
"The full amount of money that has gone to businesses in the settlements, and Etsy in the process, is hard to estimate," the report acknowledges. Etsy "also hosts many more shops that only say they are based in 'Israel,' without specifying particular locations, making it hard or impossible for consumers to tell if they are also in such settlements."
"This trade has a significant Irish connection, too—which will alarm many in that country, where there are growing calls to cut ties with settlement businesses," the publication continues. "Etsy's contracts with these shops in settlements appear to be done through the company's Irish subsidiary, Etsy Ireland U.C., which is headquartered in Dublin."
Amid "Israeli efforts to expand their illegal settlements in the West Bank and increasing settler violence against Palestinians," some "consumers of conscience may have bought unknowingly from Etsy shops in these illegal settlements," the report adds. "Etsy may not have been questioned about these business links before."
"These problems, at least, can end now," the paper states. "We now know that Etsy is another company that is profiting from business relationships with the illegal settlements. By facilitating the sale of products from shops located in these settlements, Etsy could be connected to war crimes—and this could, in turn, be making users of the platform around the world, as well as Ireland (as the location of Etsy's subsidiary contracting with settlement shops), unknowingly involved too."
"These business relationships look like a serious problem for Etsy. But Etsy also has an opportunity to respond to these revelations, and concerns about them," the report argues. "It could act on its ability, as written into its policies, to cut its ties with shops in illegal settlements."
"It could also require that all shops disclose their location (city/town and not just country)," the authors added. "In doing
so, it could show real leadership to many already or potentially loyal users: people who want to make 'feel good,' conscious and more ethical purchases online."
In 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that food products made in Israeli settlements must indicate that they originate from a settlement instead of being labeled "Product of Israel."
The following year in the United States, the administration of then-President Donald Trumpordered goods produced in much of the occupied West Bank to be labeled "Made in Israel."
The global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement has notched a string of successes in its campaign to educate and influence consumers to eschew Israeli settlement products.
Responding to a query from Provost, Etsy said that "we have shared this information internally with the appropriate teams for review."