California Republican says ‘wokism’ is worse than Civil War, both World Wars and 9/11

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SOCAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE SAYS ‘WOKISM’ IS WORSE THAN 9/11

Nearly 3,000 people died on 9/11. More than 600,000 perished in the Civil War. At least 75 million soldiers and civilians were killed in the two World Wars.

But one Southern California Republican, who is running to flip Orange County Democratic Rep. Katie Porter’s seat to red, has called “wokism” a greater threat than any of those wars or terrorist attacks.

As first reported by HuffPost, Republican congressional candidate Scott Baugh, a former state assemblyman, made those remarks in an address to the International Christian Ambassadors Association last year, seen here.

“What’s the greatest threat to religious freedom? We were born in the Revolutionary War, we survived the Civil War, World War II, World War I, a lot of wars. 9/11. None of those were that threatening to our country compared to the war that we’re fighting now. That war is about ‘wokism’ and the lack of common sense. That ‘wokism,’ this Communist ‘wokism,’ whatever you want to call it, it’s infected our churches. I like to tell some of our pastors that, you know, Jesus came to offend. That was his purpose. How would you know you needed a savior unless your sins were pointed out. And our churches aren’t doing that,” Baugh said.

The term “woke” first emerged in the Black vernacular, and described being alert to systemic racism and social injustice. The term went mainstream after the 2020 police murder of George Floyd. It later became a bête noire of movement conservatives, who appropriated the term in a bid to spread panic about the growing social justice movement.

Reached for comment, Baugh told The Bee that the context in which he said those remarks, which he said may have been “inartful,” was that the U.S. had just come out of a pandemic in which churches and schools were closed.

“It could have been said a lot better, but the point I was making is that our religious liberties have been under attack,” he said.

Baugh said that he in no way meant to denigrate the service of people who fought and died in those wars.

“I would never mean to make a comparison of that sacrifice of the men and women of our country that sacrificed for us,” he said.

Baugh’s remarks drew criticism from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and also from State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, who also is running to replace Porter in Congress.

Min, who is battling his own unfortunate headlines, said in a statement that Baugh’s comments “are despicable and denigrate the memories of the 2,996 Americans who died during the Sept. 11 attacks.”

“They also reflect an extremist and un-American ideology that is more suited to the backwaters of Q-Anon chatrooms than the halls of Congress,” Min said.

ASSEMBLY GOP MAKES LAST-DITCH EFFORT ON FENTANYL

Via Lindsey Holden...

Republican Assembly members are shifting their efforts to add more stringent penalties for fentanyl dealers to the ballot box.

They are supporting an effort by families who have lost loved ones to fentanyl to begin a signature-gathering campaign for a ballot initiative that would establish new penalties and warnings for dealers.

Supporters on Tuesday announced the Stop Fentanyl Dealers Initiative. It would enact Alexandra’s Law, which would require courts to warn those convicted of offenses related to fentanyl dealing that they could be charged with homicide if they sell a dose that kills someone.

The law is named after Alexandra Capelouto, a 20-year-old woman from Temecula who died after consuming half of an oxycodone pill she did not know contained fentanyl.

The initiative would also require prison terms of 10 to 12 years for those who sell fatal doses. In addition, it would make killing people with fentanyl a strikable offense under California’s Three Strikes law.

Kelli Reid, a spokeswoman for Stop Fentanyl Dealers, declined to comment on initiative fundraising or signature-gathering strategies.

GOP lawmakers have spent most of the year trying and failing to crack down on dealers who sell the synthetic opioid. Fentanyl is cheap and potent, and sellers sometimes cut it into other drugs to produce a stronger, less expensive product.

This means some customers, like Capelouto, buy a pill expecting it to contain another substance and mistakenly ingest a fatal dose of fentanyl, instead.

Democrats have not been supportive of Republican efforts to increase consequences for dealers. They cite the failed war on drug policies of the 1980s and 1990s that incarcerated large numbers of Black and brown Californians, even as drug consumption and overdoses continued.

Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, initially declined to hear a slate of fentanyl-related bills. Pushback eventually prompted him to hold a special hearing, although Democrats on the committee did not advance most of the measures.

Assembly Republicans on Tuesday tried and failed to force a floor vote on Assembly Constitutional Amendment 12 from Assemblywoman Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach. Dixon authored ACA 12, which would enact Alexandra’s Law, after several other lawmakers were unable to get the measure through the Legislature as a regular bill.

But the bill never got assigned to a committee, which Dixon and other Republican lawmakers protested on Tuesday.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, contested Republican assertions that Democrats are not doing enough to prevent fentanyl-related deaths.

“Speaker Rivas takes the issue of fentanyl seriously and recognizes we are experiencing a staggering and truly heartbreaking crisis,” said Cynthia Moreno, Rivas’ press secretary, in a statement.

“He is working closely with his colleagues to increase penalties for high-level fentanyl dealers and dismantle criminal networks,” she added. “He is focused on saving lives, by increasing access to naloxone, which rapidly reverses overdoses, and test strips that detect fentanyl.”

Assemblyman Joe Patterson, R-Rocklin, said the Legislature could have saved families the trouble of mounting an initiative campaign if lawmakers were willing to take up ACA 12 and other measures.

“That’s the Legislature’s responsibility,” Patterson said. “The power is given to the people, obviously, but only when the Legislature refuses to do their job. And that’s basically what happened today.”

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CALIFORNIANS ENROLL IN STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PLAN

Via Gillian Brassil...

More than 331,000 Californians are enrolled in President Joe Biden’s new student loan repayment plan. That number could grow as the Education Department reviews more applications and embarks on an awareness campaign.

Nationwide, over 4 million student loan borrowers are on the Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which is based on the enrollee’s earnings and household size. And since July 30, almost one million people have applied for the SAVE plan.

“Millions of borrowers are already benefitting from enrollment in the SAVE plan,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, “and I’m thrilled to see so many Americans submitting applications every day so that they, too, can take advantage of the most affordable student loan repayment plan in history.”

Most of the people on the SAVE plan were automatically transferred from a different income-driven plan called Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE).

Under the SAVE plan, a borrower who makes less than $15 an hour does not have to make monthly payments. Those who earn more could save up to $1,000 a year compared to other plans. And borrowers won’t see interest inflate over unpaid interest so long as they make their monthly payments.

Other parts of the plan will be effective next summer. Payments will be sliced by as much as half for undergraduate borrowers. It would also shorten the time to debt forgiveness for some borrowers, lowering it to 10 years for those who took out smaller loan amounts. After monthly payments, normally about 20 years for income-driven repayment plans, remaining debt is relieved.

Federal loan payments start Oct. 1 after being paused during the coronavirus pandemic. Interest began accumulating Sept. 1.

The Internal Revenue Service reviews their income so members don’t need to reapply or recertify every year. The Education Department is collaborating with grassroots organizations to spread the word about SAVE before payments begin next month.

Biden touted the new income-driven repayment plan after the Supreme Court downed his attempt to forgive up to $20,000 for some low- and middle-income borrowers.

Reducing federal student loan debt has been a hallmark of the Biden administration’s campaign. It has approved more than $177 billion in relief for 3.4 million borrowers.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Looks like the bird site’s owner continues to say some wild and crazy stuff. Hope more folks keep migrating here so we can continue to build this space up.”

- Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, referencing X, formerly Twitter, owner Elon Musk’s threat to sue the Anti-Defamation League, and his promotion of an antisemitic hashtag campaign, via Threads.

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