via Nick R. Martin, Talking Points Memo, Muckracker Gabriela Saucedo Mercer hasn’t even won the Republican primary for Congress in Arizona yet, but she is already facing attacks from the Democratic Congressman she is hoping to unseat in November over some incendiary comments she made in the past about Middle Eastern immigrants. In an interview … Continue reading
via Meredith Shiner, Roll Call Speaker John Boehner (Ohio), the Republican National Convention’s permanent chairman, said today he doesn’t believe the current four-day convention framework makes sense in a modern media environment. The length of the once-every-four-years party fete has come into question as a natural disaster threatens to cut yet another convention down, with … Continue reading
via Stephen Ohlemacher, San Francisco Chronicle Rep. Ron Paul’s delegates are trying to mount a floor fight over new GOP rules designed to limit the ability of insurgent presidential candidates to amass delegates to future Republican conventions. They are getting help from other delegates, though it is unclear whether they can rally enough support to … Continue reading
via Sterling C. Beard, The Hill’s Ballot Box The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to expedite its handling of a legal challenge to Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. The plaintiffs seeking to place an injunction on the law and prevent it from going into effect, including the American Civil Liberties … Continue reading
via David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement Former Republican Governor Charlie Crist announced he is endorsing Barack Obama for President noting his former party’s “extreme” positions have made the GOP “incapable of governing.” Citing “the failure of those who favor extreme rhetoric over sensible compromise,” Crist, 56, withdrew from the GOP in his 2009-2010 … Continue reading
via The Associated Press, The Washington Post Voters in this presidential election may face the starkest choice ever on the hot-button social issues of same-sex marriage, abortion rights and access to birth control. Even as most voters tell pollsters the economy is their chief concern, advocacy groups on the left and right are in high … Continue reading
via Jeff Zeleny, The New York Times Four years ago, John Brooks cast his ballot for Barack Obama, becoming one of the voters won over by his promise for changing Washington. This time, he had been undecided, but he said Mitt Romney made his decision easier by placing Representative Paul D. Ryan on the Republican … Continue reading
via Jonathan Easley, The Hill’s Ballot Box A plurality of Americans are not enthusiastic about Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate, according to a USA Today/Gallup poll released Monday. Forty-two percent said they viewed Ryan’s candidacy as a “fair” or “poor” move by the Romney campaign, compared to 39 … Continue reading
via Matt Williams, The Guardian Mitt Romney’s decision to put Paul Ryan on the White House ticket has seemingly done that rarest of things in American politics: delighted both sides of the party divide in equal measure. Republican grandees gushed over the youngish star of the GOP, even those – such as former House speaker … Continue reading
via Robert Rizzuto, The Republican Although perhaps no statement this year was as landmark for the gay community as President Barack Obama’s endorsement of marriage equality, it isn’t just Democrats who are calling for increased rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people — often abbreviated as LGBT — ahead of the 2012 elections. Christian Berle, … Continue reading
via Peter Landers, The Wall Street Journal The Supreme Court is ruling next week on the Obama health law. Of the many possible scenarios, here are the most likely four, shown in order of how much of the law would be struck down: Scenario #1: The entire law is upheld. After all is said and … Continue reading
via Paul West, L.A. Times President Obama’s decision to extend administrative relief to an estimated 800,000 young illegal immigrants has won favor with Latino voters in key battleground states, according to a new poll. The Latino Decisions survey found that Obama’s move had wiped out an earlier “enthusiasm deficit” among Hispanic voters over the administration’s … Continue reading
via Justin Sink, The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room Despite widespread speculation that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is one of the top names under consideration for Mitt Romney’s vice presidential nomination, the freshman senator has not been asked to complete any questionnaires or fill out any financial disclosure documents, according to a report by ABC News. … Continue reading
via The Editorial Board, The New York Times This is now the pattern of business in the House of Representatives: Spend most of the time passing bills designed not to become law but to satisfy the ideological desires of conservative voters. And block laws that actually need to get passed. This colossal waste of time, … Continue reading
via Chad Livengood, Detroit News House Republicans tried to silence two female Democratic lawmakers Thursday for floor outbursts a day earlier referencing male sterilization and a female sex organ. The majority party prohibited state Rep. Lisa Brown from speaking on the floor Thursday after she ended a speech the day before against a bill restricting … Continue reading
via Carrie Budoff Brown and Seung Min Kim, Politico President Barack Obama’s embrace of same-sex marriage was viewed for so long as such a risky move that operatives in both parties expected it to drop like a bomb, handing Republicans a powerful wedge issue in an election year. Instead, it’s landed like a feather. Top … Continue reading
via Jon Walker, FireDogLake Things appear to be looking up for Senate Democrats. While this year will be inherently very tough for Senate Democrats — they have 23 seats to defend compared to the Republicans who have only 10 seats up this year — the Democrats recently received several pieces of good news. Earlier this … Continue reading
via John Celock, The Huffington Post Kansas lawmakers are gearing up for a possible fight over an abortion bill Friday, two days after the state Senate passed a bill allowing health-care professionals to withhold drugs and treatment that could cause an abortion. The GOP-controlled state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that allows doctors and pharmacists … Continue reading
via Cameron Joseph The Hill’s Ballot Box Richard Grenell has resigned his role as a foreign policy spokesman for the Romney campaign following criticism of Romney from some social conservatives for having a gay man on his campaign. “We are disappointed that Ric decided to resign from the campaign for his own personal reasons,” Romney … Continue reading
via Deborah Charles, Reuters Newt Gingrich ended his tumultuous run for U.S. president on Wednesday after dazzling in televised debates but winning only two of the dozens of nominating contests in the Republican primary race. The former U.S. House of Representatives speaker, the face of the Republican party in the mid-1990s, badly trailed front-runner Mitt … Continue reading
via The Huffington Post A controversial bill in Tennessee meant to restrict public school discussion of sexuality and LGBT issues is set to die without a vote after the key GOP sponsor announced on Monday that he simply wouldn’t bring it up. “With that assurance and the opposition of some people who didn’t want to … Continue reading
via Michael McAuliff, The Huffington Post The House of Representatives advanced a bill Friday that funds cheaper student loans by cutting a preventive health care program — sparking a heated battle in which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Democrats of manufacturing a war on women. The House passed the bill by a vote of … Continue reading
via The Huffington Post A coalition of groups supporting immigrants has recruited teams of volunteers to help push programs they hope will add thousands of new U.S. citizens to the voter rolls in several states in time for the November presidential election. The national push comes after Democratic President Barack Obama has failed to deliver … Continue reading
via Julie Hubbard, The Tennessean Tennessee’s elementary and middle school teachers could face more pressure not to talk about homosexuality with their students next year after the so-called Don’t Say Gay bill cleared a House education committee Tuesday. Some Republican leaders have questioned the need for House Bill 229, which prevents the teaching of alternative … Continue reading
via Andrea Stone, The Huffington Post Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales — who was the first person of Hispanic descent to hold that position and a lightning rod for controversy as President George W. Bush’s chief legal adviser on the war on terror — warned his fellow Republicans Thursday that the issue of immigration could … Continue reading