Computational research revealed systematic algorithmic manipulation on X platform, demonstrating a strategic modification enhancing visibility for Elon Musk and Republican-aligned accounts. Researchers from Queensland University of Technology and Monash University identified a precise ‘change …
Elon MuskDonald TrumpTimothy GrahamMark AndrejevicRepublican Party+1 moresocial-media-manipulationelection-interferenceplatform-biasalgorithmic-amplificationmedia-capture+1 more
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison hosted President Donald Trump at his Rancho Mirage, California estate on February 19, 2020, for a high-dollar campaign fundraiser that raised approximately $7 million for Trump’s reelection campaign. Attendees paid $100,000 for a golf outing and photo opportunity …
Larry EllisonDonald TrumpOracleRepublican Partypolitical-donationscorruptionconflicts-of-interestcronyismoracle
Governor Ron DeSantis signs Senate Bill 7066 into law, requiring people with felony convictions to pay all fines, fees, court costs, and restitution before regaining voting rights—directly undermining the intent of Amendment 4, which Florida voters approved with 65% support just seven months …
Ron DeSantisFlorida LegislatureRepublican Partyvoter-suppressionfloridaamendment-4poll-taxron-desantis+1 more
In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, President Trump began routinely describing immigration as an ‘invasion,’ bringing white nationalist conspiracy theory language into mainstream Republican politics. The ‘invasion’ rhetoric is closely linked to the Great Replacement …
Donald TrumpRepublican Partyracial-politicswhite-nationalismconspiracy-theoriesimmigrationrepublican-party+3 more
Federal courts strike down North Carolina’s 2011 legislative redistricting as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering, finding that Republican lawmakers illegally packed African American voters into 28 districts. In response, the Republican-controlled legislature redraws the maps with explicit …
North Carolina General AssemblyDavid LewisRobert RuchoRepublican Partygerrymanderingracial-discriminationnorth-carolinavoting-rightsrepublican-party
By early 2017, 28 U.S. states have right-to-work laws, with eight traditionally industrial and union-strong states adopting the legislation since 2010 using American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model legislation: Indiana and Michigan (2012), Wisconsin (2015), West Virginia (2016), and …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Koch brothersAmericans for ProsperityU.S. Chamber of CommerceNational Association of Manufacturers+1 morelabor-suppressionalecright-to-workunion-bustingstate-capture+4 more
In the hours and days following the October 7, 2016 release of the Access Hollywood tape, dozens of Republican officials withdrew their support for Donald Trump, with many calling for him to exit the presidential race entirely. The mass defection represented the most serious internal challenge to …
Paul RyanReince PriebusJason ChaffetzJohn McCainKelly Ayotte+4 morerepublican-partytrump-campaignpolitical-crisiselection-2016party-unity+1 more
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel delivers prime-time RNC speech endorsing Trump, marking Silicon Valley’s entry into MAGA movement and first openly gay speaker at Republican convention
Peter ThielDonald TrumpRepublican Partypeter-thieldonald-trumprnc-conventiontech-politicssilicon-valley+2 more
Within hours of the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision gutting the Voting Rights Act, North Carolina Republicans introduce and rapidly pass House Bill 589, one of the most comprehensive voter suppression laws in the nation. The law imposes strict voter ID requirements, eliminates …
North Carolina General AssemblyRepublican Partyvoter-suppressionnorth-carolinarepublican-partyvoting-rightsracial-discrimination
A federal court rules that the Texas Legislature’s 2011 redistricting plan for congressional districts discriminated against Latino voters in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The decision finds that Texas deliberately carved up Latino communities and …
In the 2012 congressional elections, North Carolina Democratic candidates receive over 50% of the statewide popular vote but win only 4 of the state’s 13 congressional seats—a stark demonstration of how the Republican-drawn maps from 2011 effectively nullify voter preferences. The results …
Democratic PartyRepublican PartyNorth Carolina General Assemblygerrymanderingelectoral-manipulationnorth-carolinaredmapvoter-suppression
Wisconsin Republicans pass 2011 Wisconsin Act 43, implementing extreme partisan gerrymandering through an unprecedented secret process. The redistricting plan, drawn behind closed doors at a private law firm with rank-and-file Republican legislators required to sign confidentiality agreements, …
Wisconsin LegislatureRepublican PartyMichael Best & Friedrichgerrymanderingwisconsinrepublican-partyelectoral-manipulationredmap+1 more
Following the 2010 Tea Party midterm elections that gave Republicans control of 26 state legislatures (gaining 675 state legislative seats), the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) holds its States and Nation Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., December 1-3, with the agenda focused on …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Scott FitzgeraldKoch brothersAmericans for ProsperityRepublican Partylabor-suppressionalecright-to-workunion-bustingstate-capture+3 more
Republicans achieve historic state legislative gains in the 2010 midterm elections, flipping a net 680 state legislative seats—breaking the previous record of 628 seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974. The gains give Republicans control of redistricting in key states ahead …
Republican State Leadership CommitteeRepublican Partygerrymanderingelectoral-manipulationrepublican-partyredmapstate-legislatures
Former Secretary of State James Baker takes control of Bush’s Florida recount strategy, immediately positioning the campaign for Supreme Court intervention rather than focusing on local recounts. Baker’s decision to prioritize legal maneuvering over vote counting demonstrates coordinated …
James Baker IIIKatherine HarrisGeorge W. BushMac StipanovichTed Olson+1 morebush-v-goreelectoral-manipulationjames-bakerjudicial-strategysupreme-court-capture+1 more
By August 30, 2000, Clear Channel Communications completed its acquisition of AMFM Inc., creating a radio empire of 1,240 stations nationwide—representing a 30-fold increase from the 40 stations Clear Channel owned before the 1996 Telecommunications Act eliminated ownership caps. This unprecedented …
Clear Channel CommunicationsRush LimbaughAMFM Inc.Lowry MaysRepublican Partymedia-consolidationradio-monopolyconservative-mediatalk-radiopropaganda+3 more
In the final week of his Senate race against Harvey Gantt—the first African American major party Senate candidate in North Carolina—incumbent Republican Jesse Helms aired the notorious ‘Hands’ or ‘White Hands’ advertisement. The ad depicted white hands crumpling a job …
Jesse HelmsHarvey GanttAlex CastellanosCarter WrennRepublican Partyracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicspolitical-advertisingrepublican-partyaffirmative-action+1 more
Several Opus Dei members and sympathizers gain positions in the Reagan Administration, including key roles in economic policy and judicial nominations. This marks the beginning of systematic Opus Dei influence in Republican politics, particularly around conservative economic and social policies. By …
Ronald ReaganOpus Dei MembersRepublican Partyreagan-administrationopus-deirepublican-politicsconservative-influence
In a November 1981 anonymous interview with political scientist Alexander Lamis, Republican strategist Lee Atwater provided an extraordinarily candid explanation of how the GOP uses coded racial appeals. Atwater explained: ‘You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” …
Lee AtwaterAlexander LamisRepublican Partyracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicspolitical-strategyrepublican-partysouthern-strategy+1 more
Ronald Reagan opened his general election campaign at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Mississippi—just seven miles from where Ku Klux Klan members had murdered civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner in 1964. In his first major speech after the Republican …
Ronald ReaganRepublican Partyracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicspolitical-strategyrepublican-partysouthern-strategy+2 more
The Business Roundtable, representing Fortune 500 CEOs, coordinated the first systematic corporate PAC strategy for the 1978 midterm elections. Corporate PACs contributed $9.8 million to federal candidates, with 75% going to business-friendly Republicans. This marked the beginning of coordinated …
Business RoundtableReginald JonesCorporate PAC CommitteeRepublican Partybusiness-roundtablecorporate-coordinationelectoral-interferencesystematic-corruption
Under order from the Supreme Court’s unanimous July 24 decision in United States v. Nixon, President Nixon released the tape recording of his June 23, 1972 conversation with Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman on August 5, 1974. The tape provided irrefutable proof that Nixon had ordered the CIA to …
Richard NixonH.R. HaldemanHouse Judiciary CommitteeRepublican Partywatergateobstruction-of-justiceabuse-of-powerinstitutional-corruptionaccountability-failure
Richard Nixon won the presidency with a strategy devised by political consultant Kevin Phillips that explicitly targeted white racial resentment to break up the New Deal coalition. Phillips, who worked on Nixon’s campaign, told journalists during the election that ’the whole secret of …
Richard NixonKevin PhillipsH.R. HaldemanGeorge WallaceRepublican Partyracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicspolitical-strategyrepublican-partysouthern-strategy+1 more
Phyllis Schlafly self-publishes ‘A Choice Not an Echo,’ a 128-page polemic attacking the Republican establishment and supporting Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign. The book becomes an instant phenomenon, selling over three million copies by summer 1964 and bringing Schlafly …
The Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly passes a right-to-work bill in March 1957 over the objections of Democrats, labor leaders, and workers, making Indiana one of the first northern industrial states to adopt such legislation. Time Magazine reports in its March 11, 1957 issue that …
Indiana General AssemblyRepublican PartyDemocratic PartyIndiana labor unionsNational Right to Work Committeeright-to-worklabor-suppressionstate-legislationunion-bustingdemocratic-resistance
Legislative aides and representatives from business and industry, particularly members of the National Association of Manufacturers, draft committee bill H.R. 3020 that becomes the Taft-Hartley Act during 1947, with Congressman Donald O’Toole of New York later revealing that the anti-union …
National Association of ManufacturersRobert TaftFred HartleyDonald O'TooleJoseph Ball+2 moretaft-hartleylabor-suppressioncorporate-lobbyingnamlegislative-capture+1 more
President Calvin Coolidge signs the Revenue Act of 1926, the crowning achievement of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s multi-year campaign to restructure federal taxation in favor of the wealthy. The act slashes the top marginal income tax rate from 46 percent to 25 percent on incomes over …
Andrew MellonCalvin CoolidgeU.S. CongressRepublican Partytax-policywealth-concentrationinstitutional-capturemellon-plan
President Calvin Coolidge signs the Revenue Act of 1924, the second installment of Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon’s systematic campaign to slash taxes on the wealthy. The act reduces the maximum income tax rate from 58 percent to 46 percent on incomes over $500,000 (raised from the previous …
Andrew MellonCalvin CoolidgeU.S. CongressRepublican Partytax-policywealth-concentrationinstitutional-capturemellon-plan
Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon secured passage of the first Republican tax reduction following the 1920 landslide, dropping the top marginal rate from 73 to 58 percent while introducing preferential treatment for capital gains at 12.5 percent. The act repealed the excess profits tax imposed during …
Andrew MellonWarren G. HardingRepublican Partytax-policywealth-concentrationinstitutional-capturesystematic-corruption
President McKinley signs the Dingley Tariff Act into law, establishing the highest protective tariffs in U.S. history at an average of 52% in its first year of operation (57% increase on average). The act shields domestic industries from foreign competition by hiking duties on sugar, salt, tin cans, …
William McKinleyNelson Dingley Jr.Republican PartyIndustrial trustsManufacturing corporationsgilded-agecorporate-powereconomic-policyprotectionismmonopoly-power
The first of seven Lincoln-Douglas debates took place on August 21, 1858, in Ottawa, Illinois, as Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln faced Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a contest focused almost entirely on slavery’s expansion into the territories. The debates exposed fundamental …
Abraham LincolnStephen A. DouglasRepublican PartyDemocratic Partyslave-powerdemocratic-erosioninstitutional-capturepolitical-debatesystematic-corruption