{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=88045DE6-42C9-44D6-9C9F-44E4F7B5B4CA", "McConnell Remarks On Socialist Maduro Regime\u2019s Repression In Venezuela", "2024-07-30", "2024", "2024-07", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding Venezuela:\n\n\u201cAs the Maduro regime continues its attempt to steal an election, the people of Venezuela are standing up \u2013 forcefully \u2013 against the predations of a hellish, socialist dictatorship.\n\n\u201cAcross the country, working Venezuelans are protesting in the streets. They\u2019ve torn down a statue of Maduro\u2019s socialist predecessor, Hugo Chavez. And in at least one instance, security forces have removed their uniforms and refused to use force against the demonstrators.\n\n\u201cThe people of Venezuela are putting up an inspired resistance. Unfortunately, they\u2019re up against an authoritarian who will stop at nothing to retain his grip on power. After all, Maduro has learned from the worst\u2014Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Damascus, and Havana.\n\n\u201cAnd he has no shortage of useful idiots and fifth columns at his disposal.\n\n\u201cSome of the same corners of social media that defended Bashar Assad, spun conspiracies about Ukraine, and demonized Israel are now laughably accusing the CIA of masterminding Venezuela\u2019s unrest.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, supposedly mainstream media here in America are already hard at work white-washing history.\n\n\u201cAccording to the New York Times, Venezuela\u2019s problem isn\u2019t the abject failure of socialism, but the incursion of a supposed \u2018brutal capitalism\u2019.\n\n\u201cGeorge Orwell would like a word.\n\n\u201cMr. President, the free world ought to have the courage to look evil in the face and call it what it is.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:32:29Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=88045DE6-42C9-44D6-9C9F-44E4F7B5B4CA"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4921568799763918, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}