Tag: mike braun
The Self-Proclaimed Ultra-Right Prophet On Indiana GOP Ticket

The Self-Proclaimed Ultra-Right Prophet On Indiana GOP Ticket

Last month, pastor Micah Beckwith secured Indiana’s GOP lieutenant governor nomination in an unexpected upset against gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun’s pick for running mate.

Beckwith is a right-wing podcaster, promoter of Christian nationalism, and suburban pastor at an Indianapolis-area church affiliated with the Pentecostal network Assemblies of God. The network describes same-sex marriage as “symptomatic of a broader spiritual disorder that threatens the family, the government, and the church" and discourages "divorce by all lawful means and teaching.”

Beckwith has spent years blasting his extreme positions to the world on his podcast Jesus, Sex and Politics, as well as in Facebook livestreams. In this content, Beckwith has claimed that God was behind the January 6 insurrection and Trump’s rise to power, dabbled in numerology, and talked at length about his “prophetic calling."

Beckwith has been trying to immerse himself in the right-wing culture war for years

In 2021, Beckwith bragged on Facebook about giving out hundreds of religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine.

In May 2022, Beckwith’s church hosted a Turning Point USA Faith event with founder and right-wing troll Charlie Kirk, which was posted on The Charlie Kirk Show. During the show with Beckwith, Kirk spouted conspiracy theories about the World Economic Forum, fearmongered about “globalists trying to squeeze the American way of life,” and told audience members that “college is a scam for most young people.”

Earlier this year, Beckwith resigned from his local public library board of directors. He spent his time on the board championing a controversial book removal policy that author and Indiana resident John Green later criticized after his book The Fault in Our Stars was removed from the young adult section.

Beckwith’s penchant for livestreaming has created a digital archive of his wild ramblings

Sporting a backward cap and a bald eagle cutoff T-shirt, Beckwith went live on Facebook on the Fourth of July in 2018 to talk about working with “prophet” Cindy Jacobs, who he described as “a lady that I truly think has a gift from the Lord.”

Jacobs is a self-proclaimed prophet who, according to Right Wing Watch, “once declared that a rash of bird deaths in Arkansas was the result of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” She claims that her prayers have stopped terrorist attacks, prevented coups, and saved the economy. Jacobs also claimed that her children have the power to stop tornadoes and presidential assassinations.

Beckwith enthusiastically recalled Jacobs telling him that there are archangels protecting each nation. He claimed he asked if Jacobs had ever seen the angel that stands over the United States and she said yes, saying that the angel “has a flaming sword” in its right hand and “is holding the torch of the Statue of Liberty” in its left, with a sash of the United States flag across its shoulders.

Beckwith excitedly agreed with Jacobs later in the video, saying, “I truly believe that every nation has an angel that the Lord has placed over it.”

Beckwith has claimed that God has given him a “prophetic calling” as well, and he occasionally mentions his own prophecies.

“The devil has always tried to keep the Christian voice out of government,” Beckwith said in a livestream. “I’m not saying everyone needs to run for office. I know God has called me to do that and I will be a strong voice of truth in office. But that’s what he’s called me to do.”

Beckwith said in one video, “I remember that the lord back in 2012 told me very specifically that he was going to send a wrecking ball through our political system to expose the darkness and the corruption that has been there for years. … And years later, here we have a guy named Donald Trump.”

Beckwith claimed God is behind Trump’s ascension and January 6 insurrection

Beckwith compared Trump to the biblical figure of King Cyrus who, according to the Bible, was anointed by God to liberate Israel from Babylonian captivity, saying, “This sounds just like our 45th president.”

“What I think is happening is God has anointed him [Trump] to take the mantle of leadership in America and God is saying, ‘I’m going to use you for good. I’m going to use you in ways that bless my people,’” said Beckwith.

Then came the numerology: “Oh, by the way, what chapter in Isaiah do you think that chapter is? It’s the 45th chapter of Isaiah. Do you think the lord may be sending a message to the church, saying, ‘Church, trust me. I am leading this man to do good throughout the world and to proclaim my goodness’?”

Beckwith also claimed that Trump is divinely protected by God: “Everything the world is trying to do to take him out isn’t working. And that is the lord. That is supernatural. It can’t be anything else.”

In a livestream that has since been deleted from Facebook, Beckwith claimed that God told him that the January 6 Capitol insurrection was divine: “And you know what the lord told me? He said, ‘Micah,’ he said, ‘I sent those riots to Washington. … What you saw yesterday was my hand at work.’”

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

Fearful Senate Republicans Will Filibuster To Stop Capitol Riot Commission

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

The odds that the Senate will pass a bipartisan commission to study the origins of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol are growing increasingly slim, as Senate Republicans are coming out one by one to say they do not support the probe.

Even Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump for inciting the violent insurrection say they do not support the commission, twisting themselves in pretzels to justify their decision.

And that makes it increasingly likely that the commission will be the first thing Republicans filibuster during President Joe Biden's tenure. Current filibuster rules say that legislation in the Senate must garner 60 votes in order to proceed. Given that the Senate is split 50-50 along partisan lines, that means Democrats need 10 GOP votes to pass bills.

"I don't think there will be 10 votes on our side for it," Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN), told Politico. "At this stage, I'd be surprised if you're gonna get even a handful."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will bring the commission up for a vote, whether or not it has enough GOP support to avoid a filibuster — meaning that if 10 Republicans do not vote in favor of the commission, it will be officially blocked.

"Senate Republicans can show everyone if they want to pursue the truth about January 6th or just want to cover up for Donald Trump and insurrectionists," Schumer tweeted on Thursday. "I will bring the House-passed legislation for the January 6th Commission to the Senate floor for a vote."

Republicans who have come out against the commission have falsely claimed it's not bipartisan and will be used as a witch hunt by Democrats.

"The current commission proposed by Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats appears to be a platform to score partisan political points," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said in a statement about why he opposes the commission.

The framework of the commission, however, was brokered by the Democratic chair of the House Homeland Security Committee and the GOP ranking member on that same body.

The members of the commission would be equally appointed by Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, according to the agreement. And any subpoenas would require a majority vote, meaning there would need to be buy-in from the GOP-appointed members.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who came out against the commission on Wednesday, said the arrests by federal law enforcement are sufficient, even though the arrests will not lead to a comprehensive report about what went wrong and how to prevent future attacks like the Jan. 6 insurrection again. That's something a commission would explicitly do.

Even Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), one of the seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump of inciting the insurrection, came out against the commission.

Burr told Politico that part of his opposition to the commission is that it would drag into the midterm elections.

Multiple GOP lawmakers have said that they believe the commission could hamper Republican chances of taking back the House and Senate in November 2022, with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) saying that a probe could uncover that some Republican lawmakers played a role in the attack.

"I want our midterm message to be on the kinds of things that the American people are dealing with: That's jobs and wages and the economy and national security, safe streets and strong borders — not relitigating the 2020 elections," Sen. John Thune (R-SD) told CNN.

Republicans filibustering a bipartisan commission to probe a deadly attack on democracy gives progressive Democrats who have been railing against the arcane Senate procedure more fuel to their argument that the filibuster must go.

"Filibustering a bipartisan Commission regarding the January 6 insurrection is a three dimensional way to make the point that the filibuster is primarily a destructive force in American politics," Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) tweeted.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

Indiana Democrats Charge Braun 'Stole' Senate Seat With Illegal Funding

Indiana Democrats Charge Braun 'Stole' Senate Seat With Illegal Funding

Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) relied on millions of dollars in seemingly illegal loans for his 2018 campaign, according to an audit released by the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.

Braun may have violated federal law by taking in more than $8.5 million in illegal campaign contributions, the audit found.

In 2018, Braun unseated incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-IN) by a 50.7 oercent - 44.8 percent margin — less than 135,000 votes out of nearly 2.3 million votes cast. Braun's campaign reported spending $18,358,687 on the race — outspending Donnelly's campaign by about $1.26 million.

The Federal Election Commission found Braun's 2018 campaign may have violated multiple campaign finance laws, including reporting errors and illegal loans, the Daily Beastreported.

Most notably, the auditors said Braun's campaign received $8,549,405 in "apparent prohibited loans," including $1.5 million in what looked like illegal corporate loans from his own transportation company. Corporations are not permitted to directly fund federal campaigns.

Indiana Democrats called on state and federal agents to investigate Braun's campaign finances and argued that the ill-gotten funds "made his campaign much more competitive."

"It's clear from the reporting that came out this morning that Mike Braun broke the law and stole a United States Senate seat in 2018," Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl said in a press release on Thursday. "Today, Hoosiers need to ask themselves a sobering question: Do we have an illegitimately elected U.S. senator?"

Schmuhl called for "all jurisdictions to investigate potential criminality related to Braun's campaign, businesses, or personal finances," including the U.S. Department of Justice, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana, and the Indiana Attorney General's Office.

A spokesperson for Braun did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story, but his campaign told the Daily Beast that it had done nothing wrong and that the money received from his company was really just misreported stock sales.

In October, President Joe Biden nominated Donnelly to be Ambassador to the Holy See in Vatican City. Braun has raised about $1.5 million so far for his 2024 re-election race.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

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