"I'm sitting at home wondering 'is he gonna make it back?'"
The Fierce Force stands strong against Democrat power grabs.
Fierce is a free weekly newsletter about conservative women and politics.
Happy Friday! I’m, sadly, back at home in Virginia, the California of the mid-Atlantic. Our trip to Florida and Tennessee was amazing — we had almost forgotten what freedom looked like! How lucky are those of you who already live there. It looks like the Christoph clan will be heading to Florida on a more permanent basis later this year. Watch this space!
In today’s edition:
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) calls out Democrats for their unconstitutional attempt to seize control of elections, saying, “DC does not get to dictate how elections are run in our states.”
Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) annihilates Democrats for their bill to defund the police; it’s very personal for her.
The CPAC presidential straw poll shows Nikki Haley has a lot of work to do to win over grassroots conservatives.
— Teri Christoph (Email: fierce@substack.com)
Please excuse me for gushing a bit, but I am so darned proud this week of the GOP women of the freshman class. Several big bills were voted on — including the awful H.R. 1 and ludicrous H.R. 1280 — and the ladies stepped up big. Dare I say they were … fierce?
I wrote about H.R. 1 over at Bongino.com.
Misnamed as the “For the People Act of 2021,” the bill, which passed last night on a 220-210 vote, is more accurately described by Republicans as the “For the Politicians Act.” As John Fund wrote this week in The Spectator, “HR 1 would cement all of the worst changes in election law made in blue states in 2020 and nationalize them. Federal control of elections would be the norm. States would be relegated to colonial outposts that carry out Washington DC’s mandates.”
This is a truly scary bill that would change our elections forever. Every Republican voted against it because it’s clearly unconstitutional and aimed at making sure the GOP never again wins the White House or congressional majorities. Several ladies of the Fierce Force were outspoken in their opposition to the Democrat’s naked power grab.
Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN):
Speaker Pelosi's top priority is a bill that funds campaigns with taxpayer dollars, legalizes voting for convicted felons, weakens election security, and makes it harder to protect against voter fraud.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO):
HR 1 would render state legislatures completely irrelevant when it comes to election laws. The concept of 50 state elections would basically be erased.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY):
You need an ID to:
buy cigarettes & beer
board a plane
enter a school
collect benefits
The argument that requiring ID to vote is somehow voter suppression is absurd. It’s also insulting to Americans that you seem to think they can’t figure out how to obtain an ID.
Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) wrote a concise rebuttal of H.R. 1 here. The bill now goes to the Senate for debate. Look out below for a call to action — this nonsense has be stopped right now.
Another big bill voted on by the House was H.R. 1280, introduced by the Democrats as the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act,” but dismantled by the Republicans for what it really is: the defunding of the police.
Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida is married to a first responder, so it’s personal for her. Her floor speech in opposition of H.R. 1280 is worth the two minutes to watch it.
That right there is why this newsletter exists. Women (and, of course, men!) like Kat Cammack are all that stand between us and the greedy, dictatorial Democrats.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis introduced a law enforcement bill of her own, H.R. 1465, the Right to Remain Safe Act of 2021. The legislation “seeks to deter local governments from defunding police departments and holds them responsible should someone become a victim to a crime due to the government's negligence.” Two other Fierce Force members, Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) and Ashley Hinson (R-IA) have co-sponsored the bill.
Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats were also busy this week cramming through another bloated COVID relief package, 90% of which will go to non-relief pet projects for Democrats. Is anyone else sensing a theme here? Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) introduced a bill to take all the pork Pelosi had put aside for a rail project in her district and instead use those funds — all $140M worth — towards efforts to prevent suicide amongst youth who’ve suffered due to COVID restrictions. Democrats voted en masse against that measure and Silicon Valley will now get a subway system.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar indicated this week that a Republican-led immigration reform effort could be introduced as early as next week. Via Breitbart:
Salazar said providing an amnesty to illegal aliens who have been in the U.S. for at least five years is necessary to “send a message to the Latinos or the browns in this country that we in the Republican Party, we have the same values entrenched in our party that are in their hearts.”
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) joined other Michigan lawmakers to sign a letter to the National Guard calling for better treatment of Guard members who are deployed to the U.S. Capitol — or “Fort Pelosi,” as Lauren Boebert calls it. Some Guard members stationed in DC have reported receiving undercooked food and meals containing metal shavings. Said McClain:
“I am horrified our guardsmen and women, who are protecting our Capitol, are being fed inedible food. This problem needs to be addressed now, before anyone else gets sick.”
Even better, call off the charade and send them all home.
CPAC was held last week, and it was a chance for potential 2024 presidential candidates get some time in front of grassroots activists. The CPAC presidential straw poll can be an early indicator of who’s resonating with conservative voters … and who’s not. President Trump made a triumphant return to the stage with a rousing speech about the triumphs of his administration and was, unsurprisingly, the winner of CPAC’s 2021 straw poll.
He won by a long shot. Per Fox News, “Trump got 55% of the vote in the poll in which he was included, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in second place at 21%.” Kristi Noem came in a distant third.
Nikki Haley, who opted not to speak at CPAC this year, found herself in fourth place, receiving only 3% of the vote. On the heels of Trump’s speech, Haley tweeted out:
She loves him. She loves him not. She loves him. She loves him not.
Call to Action
Now that House Democrats have passed the disastrous election “reform” bill, which will legitimize election fraud, it goes to the Senate for debate. Your senators need to hear from you — tell them that H.R. 1 must be defeated. Our Constitution is worth saving!
Question of the Week
We didn’t do a question last week, as I was traveling and sharing close quarters with the family and kept the newsletter kind of short. Two weeks ago, however, I asked you:
Have you/will you get the COVID-19 vaccine?
I don’t believe I received one reply in the affirmative. But I did get a few “hell no” responses. That’s that, then.
This week’s question is related to the continued reopening of states after a year of COVID restrictions and lockdowns. Here goes:
Are you planning to take an out-of-state vacation this year?
Please shoot me your response at fierce@substack.com.
Just For Fun
Teri Christoph is the publisher of the Fierce newsletter. She is co-founder of Smart Girl Politics, an online network for women, and can be found on Twitter, Gab and MeWe.