There Is a Reason Ron DeSantis Wants History Told a Certain Way

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( A morning roundup of worthy pundit and news reads, brought to you by Daily Kos. [Click here to read the full web version.]( - [There Is a Reason Ron DeSantis Wants History Told a Certain Way]( There Is a Reason Ron DeSantis Wants History Told a Certain Way, Jamelle Bouie/New York Times As it happens, I’m reading the historian Donald Yacovone’s most recent book, “Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity,” on the relationship between history education and the construction of white supremacist ideologies in the 19th and 20th centuries. It’s an interesting book, filled with compelling information about the racism that has shaped the teaching of American history. But I mention it here because, in one section on Southern textbook writers and the demand for pro-slavery pedagogy, Yacovone relays a voice that might sound awfully familiar to modern ears. As Yacovone explains, pre-Civil War textbook production was dominated by writers from New England. Some Southerners had, by the 1850s, become “increasingly frustrated with the ‘Yankee-centric’ quality of the historical narratives.” They wanted texts “specifically designed for Southern students and readers.” In particular, Southern critics wanted textbooks that gave what they considered a fair and favorable view to the “subject of the weightiest import to us of the South … I mean the institution of Negro slavery,” as one critic put it. - [Why was this massive Trump scandal hiding in plain sight for 28 months?]( Why was this massive Trump scandal hiding in plain sight for 28 months?, Will Bunch, Philadelphia Inquirer A shocking allegation that then-President Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani was selling pardons for $2 million got lost. Why it matters now. To the very end, Trump ignored the practices of past presidents — who’d worked mostly off petitions that had been investigated by the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney — and granted clemency largely for connected folks that he tended to know, from close cronies like Roger Stone and Steve Bannon to his reality-TV pal Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced Illinois governor, to his son-in-law’s dad, Charles Kushner. Then there was an additional category: those who’d paid good money to Trump World insiders to plead their case. On Jan. 17, 2021, the New York Times published an article headlined: “Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump.” Based on more than three dozen interviews with key players, the Times confirmed that wealthy convicted felons were paying tens of thousands of dollars to insiders like a former Trump personal attorney, John Dowd, in the rush to gain clemency. To be clear, hiring a lawyer promising special access — while perhaps unseemly — is not new and probably not unlawful. But a Times passage about convicted ex-CIA leaker John Kiriakou, who paid an unnamed Trump associate $50,000 with a contingent promise of $50,000 more if a pardon was granted, included a jaw-dropping if unproven allegation: “And Mr. Kiriakou was separately told that Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani could help him secure a pardon for $2 million. Mr. Kiriakou rejected the offer, but an associate, fearing that Mr. Giuliani was illegally selling pardons, alerted the F.B.I. Mr. Giuliani challenged this characterization.” - [Daily Kos succeeds because we do things differently than any other media organization around. Unfortunately, we are falling behind revenue projections. Can you donate $5 today?]( - [What Christian Nationalism Has Done to My State and My Faith Is a Sin]( What Christian Nationalism Has Done to My State and My Faith Is a Sin, Susan Stubson (Wyoming Republican), New York Times I first saw it while working the rope line at a monster-truck rally during the 2016 campaign by my husband, Tim, for Wyoming’s lone congressional seat. As Tim and I and our boys made our way down the line, shaking hands and passing out campaign material, a burly man wearing a “God bless America” T-shirt and a cross around his neck said something like, “He’s got my vote if he keeps those [epithet] out of office,” using a racial slur. What followed was an uncomfortable master class in racism and xenophobia as the man decanted the reasons our country is going down the tubes. God bless America. I now understand the ugliness I heard was part of a current of Christian nationalism fomenting beneath the surface. It had been there all the time. The rope line rant was a mission statement for the disaffected, the overlooked, the frightened. It was also an expression of solidarity with a candidate like Donald Trump who gave a name to a perceived enemy: people who do not look like us or share our beliefs. Immigrants are taking our guns. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. You are not safe in your home. Religious freedom is on the gallows. Vote for me. The messages worked. And in large part, it’s my faith community — white, rural and conservative — that got them there. I am a white conservative woman in rural America. Raised Catholic, I found that my faith deepened after I married and joined an evangelical church. - [Biden uses good cop, bad cop against the GOP’s debt ceiling extortion]( Biden uses good cop, bad cop against the GOP’s debt ceiling extortion, Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post Some Democrats would prefer to ignore Republicans entirely, doing away with the perennial hostage-taking and encouraging Biden to exercise his presidential power to deny Republicans any advantage. That, however, includes significant risks, including the loss of support among the usual suspects, notably Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). White House aides point out that a legal challenge over the 14th Amendment would be inevitable, and while the legal battle played out, the markets would be in turmoil. Indeed, the White House detected some troubling movement in the bond markets recently, though that calmed down once reports of constructive negotiations emerged. The true test will come if and when a default deal materializes. If Biden avoids making cuts, essentially agreeing to a continuing resolution for the remainder of his term with some window dressing (e.g., coronavirus funds claw back) but no implementation of counterproductive work requirements for benefit programs, it would amount to a huge win for the president and for Democrats. A bipartisan deal that leaves his agenda in place and puts to bed the default issue for the remainder of his term would give him the best outcome, given that Republicans do, after all, control the House. - [Debt Limit Update: McCarthy's Very Weak Hand]( Debt Limit Update: McCarthy's Very Weak Hand, Dan Pfeiffer, The Message Box The Speaker is talking tough to appease the right, but he needs the Dems to bail him out Is this theater? Are we screwed? Should we panic? Buy gold? Bury our money in the backyard? The debt ceiling reports from the legacy media are nothing short of horrendous. And confusing. Much of it is laundering the viewpoints of the GOP leadership aides upon which Capitol Hill reporters depend for scoops. Their “journalism” excuses the irresponsible position of Republicans and puts all of the onus of preventing default on Joe Biden and the Democrats. I don’t blame anyone for being confused. Here’s what you need to know based on my experience working in the White House during the last two Republican-engineered debt ceiling crises. - [The poor are being held hostage in the debt ceiling standoff]( The poor are being held hostage in the debt ceiling standoff, EJ Dionne, Washington Post Here’s what must not happen: Our country’s least advantaged citizens should not be forced to pay the largest price to prevent an economic catastrophe. Making the poor poorer should never happen; it certainly shouldn’t happen on a Democratic president’s watch. That issue is at the heart of this needless and destructive battle. House Republicans decided to hold the economy hostage to slash assistance for low-income Americans while protecting tax cuts for the wealthy. That’s a factual statement, not a partisan complaint. - [Doesn't matter if you're a coffee or tea person, whatever you're drinking tastes better out of a Daily Kos mug. Get yours now!]( ICYMI: Popular stories from the past week you won't want to miss: - [DeSantis campaign in turmoil after Disney refuses to repair candidate]( - [Marjorie Taylor Greene's plan to impeach everyone reaches Merrick Garland]( - [Russia's Bakhmut collapse bodes ill for its future defenses]( Want even more Daily Kos? Check out our podcasts: - [The Brief: A one-hour weekly political conversation hosted by Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld]( - [The Downballot: Daily Kos' podcast devoted to downballot elections. New episodes every Thursday]( Want to write your own stories? 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