Liberal media spins Sen. Ernst's town hall death reminder while Iowa Democrats make their play



Iowa Democrats and the liberal media appear desperate to undermine Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and paint her as uncompassionate as she prepares to fight for re-election next year.

Ernst fielded questions from a boisterous crowd during a town hall meeting in Parkersburg, Iowa, on Friday, including a question about changes to Medicaid in the reconciliation bill.

The senator explained that the proposed changes would correct over-payments and ensure that ineligible persons, including millions of illegal aliens, could not continue receiving payments. Ernst underscored that eligible and vulnerable Americans would continue to be protected.

Midway through her response, a woman in the audience — later revealed to be India May, a radical Democrat who plans to run for the Iowa House — shouted, "People will die."

Ernst broke from her detailed answer to address the heckler's claim — a claim that Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought later called "astroturf" and that other Democrats, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), have recycled — with a memento mori: "Well, we all are going to die so, for heaven's sakes."

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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The media framed the senator's remarks, which have gone viral on social media, as a callous response to "Medicaid cuts" in general, which President Donald Trump assured Americans Monday are not in the "one, big, beautiful bill."

The Associated Press, for instance, captioned an excerpt of the senator's answer, "Sen. Joni Ernst defends Medicaid cuts, says 'well, we all are going to die.'" Vanity Fair ran a piece titled, "Joni Ernst Not Sure How Else to Explain She Doesn’t Give a F--k About Your Medicaid." The New Republic published an article adopting the same framing, titled, "Joni Ernst Stoops to Shocking Low When Told Medicaid Cuts Will Kill."

Iowa News Now ran footage of "Iowans" reacting poorly to the senator's comment without noting that one of the featured commenters — identified in the reporting as a "father of two adults on Medicaid" — is actually the president of the local American Federation of Government Employees union and an activist who routinely criticizes Republicans.

CNN talking head Dana Bash repeatedly made reference to Ernst's remark on her show Sunday, providing Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) with ample airtime to attack the Republican.

'There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes.'

"I think everybody in that audience knows that they're going to die. They would just rather die in old age at 85 or 90, instead of dying at 40," said Murphy. "I wish Joni and others saw the immorality of what they're doing."

As if coordinated with the media pile-on, Democratic Iowa state Rep. J.D. Scholten seized on Ernst's bad press to announce that he was entering the U.S. Senate race to challenge her.

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Failed Democratic congressional candidate J.D. Scholten. Photo by Thomas McKinless/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

Scholten, a pitcher for the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association of Baseball, told ABC News, one of the outfits that amplified the callous-comment narrative, that Ernst's remarks "really hit home with me."

"We need better leadership than that," added Scholten.

As critics and opportunists began feigning offense, Ernst posted a sarcastic apology video, noting, "I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize for a statement that I made yesterday at my town hall. See, I was in the process of answering a question that had been made by an audience member when a woman who was extremely distraught screamed out from the back corner of the auditorium, 'People are going to die.'"

"I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth," continued Ernst. "So I apologize. And I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the Tooth Fairy as well."

Despite Democrats and liberal publications' apparent effort to batter Ernst over the remarks, she remains action-oriented.

"While Democrats fearmonger against strengthening the integrity of Medicaid, Senator Ernst is focused on improving the lives of all Iowans," a spokeswoman for Ernst told Blaze News. "There's only two certainties in life: death and taxes, and she's working to ease the burden of both by fighting to keep more of Iowans' hard-earned tax dollars in their own pockets and ensuring their benefits are protected from waste, fraud, and abuse."

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Trump sends mixed signals on possible tax hike



President Donald Trump allegedly urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) during a phone call Wednesday to raise the top tax rate, albeit at a much higher income level, and close the carried interest loophole amid Republican lawmakers' efforts to finalize their Trump agenda bill.

The president indicated a change of mind Friday morning, however, suggesting on Truth Social that "Republicans should probably not do it."

Last month, Trump and Johnson shot down the idea of a tax hike on the wealthiest Americans.

The president said in his April 22 interview with Time magazine, "I certainly don't mind having a tax increase."

'Our party is the group that stands against that traditionally.'

"I actually love the concept," continued Trump, "but I don't want it to be used against me politically, because I've seen people lose elections for less, especially with the fake news."

The following day, Trump came out against the idea more forcefully, telling reporters in the Oval Office that the idea of a tax hike was "very disruptive," as it might prompt wealthy individuals to flee the country, reported Politico.

"You know, the old days, they left states. They go from one state to the other. Now with transportation so quick and so easy, they leave countries. You lose a lot of money if you do that," said Trump.

Johnson similarly came out swinging against a tax hike on April 23, telling "The Will Cain Show" last month, "We have been working against that idea. I'm not in favor of raising the tax rates because our party is the group that stands against that traditionally."

A number of provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire in December. Unless lawmakers extend the cuts, tax brackets will revert back to pre-TCJA levels. Accordingly the top individual, estate, and income tax bracket would return to 39.6% from the current rate of 37%.

One unnamed Republican source said to be familiar with Trump's Wednesday call with Johnson told NBC News that the president was considering allowing the rate to revert to 39.6% "to protect Medicaid and help pay for middle- and working-class tax cuts."

Multiple sources suggested to The Hill that while the White House advocated for allowing the top marginal income tax rate cut to expire, the administration wanted to see the 2017 cuts extended for Americans in the lower tax brackets. While the top income bracket starts this year at $626,350 per individual, the New York Times indicated the proposed restoration of the previous top rate would apply to individuals earning over $2.5 million annually.

The Hill noted that a spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee declined to comment on any policy specifics under consideration, and the White House did not return the outlet's request for comment.

'I'm OK if they do!'

When asked about the proposed tax income increase on the upper brackets, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told "The Hugh Hewitt Show" Thursday that he was "not excited about the proposal but I have to say there are a number of people in both the House and the Senate who are."

Crapo added, "If the president weighs in in favor of it, then that's going to be a big factor that we have to take into consideration."

Trump noted in a social media post on Friday, "The problem with even a 'TINY' tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, 'Read my lips,' the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election."

"NO, Ross Perot cost him the Election!" continued Trump. "In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I'm OK if they do!"

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Dan Crenshaw melts down over allegation he pushed for congressional pay raise: 'F***ing incels'



Trump allies and various other Republicans revolted after House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his 1,547-page funding bill Tuesday evening. What was originally supposed to be a clean bill became an apparent Christmas wish-list for certain lawmakers and their friends.

Among the many additions weighing down the bill was an extension for the Global Engagement Center, a scandal-plagued multi-agency entity housed within the U.S. State Department that has been accused of working with organizations to censor conservative voices. In his critique that mentioned the GEC extension, President-elect Donald Trump suggested that the spending bill might also help hinder an investigation into the House Jan. 6 committee.

Other critics noted that the bill would give congressional lawmakers pay raises. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who recently complained about stagnant salaries, lashed out when journalist Nick Sortor — citing unnamed sources — alleged that the Texas Republican had "spearheaded" the apparent push for higher pay.

Sortor shared a clip from Crenshaw's November video interview with the Free Press where Crenshaw suggested that populist-driven legislation prohibiting stock-trading by House members would amount to more self-flagellation making it all but impossible for anyone but the ultra-wealthy to serve in Congress.

"How about we don't make any money, either," said Crenshaw. "Just cut our paychecks. We haven't got a pay raise since 2008, even a [cost-of-living adjustment] increase."

Crenshaw is hardly the only representative critical of a lack of pay raises in recent years.

Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Austin Scott (R-Ga.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), and others have pushed for a congressional members' COLA increase. Donalds told The Hill in June, "If you don't address member salaries, what you're going to end up, frankly, is you're gonna have less diversity of various points on the economic ladder of members." Roll Call reported that Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) even suggested that blocking a pay raise might be unconstitutional.

'You're not very good at this are you?'

In terms of the controversial spending bill, the absence of language usually inserted in appropriations bills blocking a COLA increase meant that general representatives' pay could grow beyond $174,000. The Congressional Research Service recently indicated that the "maximum potential January 2025 adjustment is 3.8%, which would result in a salary of $180,600, an increase of $6,600."

Had congressional lawmakers routinely given themselves bumps since 2009 without statutory freezes, they would have been making $217,900 this year.

"Crenshaw ALMOST got his way, with a pay increase for members + benefits being included in today's massive spending boondoggle," tweeted Sortor. "THIS GUY is responsible for LOADS of the garbage we see being thrown into spending bills. All for his own benefit."

"Yeah or maybe you're a f***ing lying piece of s*** because I'm not even on the YES list for the whip team. Never have been," responded Crenshaw. "But hey, whatever gets you pathetic bottom feeders your click bait. F***ing incels."

Saagar Enjeti, co-host of "Breaking Points," joked, "Fellas: You're an incel if you think Dan Crenshaw shouldn't get a raise and have the freedom to trade defense contractor stocks."

While others similarly latched onto the involuntary celibate remark, Crenshaw got baited into a broader argument about money in politics by Phillip Buchanan, who goes by Catturd. Buchanan wrote, "Yeah get it right — Dan Crenshaw is the America-last, Ukraine-first war pig who doesn’t need a raise because of all the money he makes when he miraculously became a stock expert since joining Congress."

"Anonymous coward like 'catturd' talking s*** without any evidence," said Crenshaw. "I'm used to it. Sorry I was guy fighting the wars that little b****** like you would never dare to. One of us has actually served this country and continues to, while losers like you make money being trolls on social media. I live in Atascocita, just outside Houston. If you think I’m 'rich,' you're a f***ing idiot. The people getting rich off politics are the 'influencers' like Catturd selling their platforms to the highest bidder. Sorry to break to it yall, that's the truth."

The speculative tracker Quiver Quantitative estimated Crenshaw's trade volume at $313,000 and his net worth at around $1.45 million

Buchanan noted that he was an Army veteran who hasn't been anonymous for years and that the congressman's stock trades were public knowledge, adding, "You're not very good at this are you?"

Trump wrote in a Wednesday Truth Social post, "This is not a good time for Congress to be asking for pay increases. Hopefully, you'll be entitled to such an increase in the near future when we, 'MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'"

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