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VIDEO: Wisconsin Republican blasts GOP colleagues, says "Things have gotten way too extreme"
By Nathan Thomas on Monday, June 10, 2013Wisconsin Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz was asked to comment on recent actions by his GOP colleagues, and his response will definitely leave a mark:
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DLCC Statement on Recall Signature Submission against Colorado Senator Giron
By Dan Roth on Monday, June 10, 2013WASHINGTON—Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Michael Sargeant released the following statement on the submission of signatures to recall Colorado Senator Angela Giron (D-Pueblo.)
“Senator Giron has dedicated her life to improving the lives of the youth of her community. For nearly three decades at the Boys and Girls Club, she worked to steer countless youth away from the dangers of drug addiction, and now she travels the country helping to build quality youth programs across the United States. Senator Giron brought her passion for helping our youth to Colorado’s Capitol, where she sponsored legislation that helped students who dropped out of high school complete their education to receive their high school diploma.
“Again, extremists are attacking Senator Giron because she successfully sponsored legislation that will increase voter participation in Colorado, and she supported legislation that would grant equal benefits to the state’s gay and lesbian couples as well as the new legislation that will reduce gun violence in her district and throughout Colorado."
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New analysis predicts bright future for Georgia Dems
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, June 6, 2013Pollsters Zac McCrary and Brian Stryker of Anzalone Liszt Grove Research published a detailed new report in HuffPost Pollster about the rapidly-approaching future of Peach State politics - and how trends there could reshape national elections for decades to come. Their conclusion: Democrats are ascendant, and national Republicans should be very, very worried.
Here's a sampling: "Georgia is not only among the more competitive GOP-leaning states, but also has become more competitive each of the last two cycles. John Kerry's share of the vote in Georgia lagged his national vote share by 6.9 percentage points.... In 2008, Obama narrowed that gap by a full percentage point to a 5.9 percent disparity... and Obama's 2012 Georgia performance came even closer to his nationwide vote share (5.57 percent vs. national)."
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GOPer who pledged not to "allow minorities to run roughshod" running for re-election
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, June 6, 2013Arkansas Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert, made infamous by his promise that "we're not gonna allow minorities to run roughshod," just announced his re-election bid in Senate District 35, instantly making him the public face of Republican legislative candidates in 2014.
Last cycle, Republicans were forced to disavow three of their state House nominees (including one incumbent and two former Representatives) for, respectively, advocating "the death penalty for rebellious children," calling slavery "a blessing in disguise" for "the blacks," and describing Abraham Lincoln as a war criminal and a Nazi.
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Wisconsin GOP rushing to impose new voting hurdles
By Nathan Thomas on Wednesday, June 5, 2013Wisconsin's GOP Assembly Speaker is demanding "quick passage" of a controversial elections bill that would invalidate
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VIDEO: Wisconsin Republican blasts GOP colleagues, says "Things have gotten way too extreme"
By Nathan Thomas on Monday, June 10, 2013Wisconsin Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz was asked to comment on recent actions by his GOP colleagues, and his response will definitely leave a mark:
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Wisconsin GOP rushing to impose new voting hurdles
By Nathan Thomas on Wednesday, June 5, 2013Wisconsin's GOP Assembly Speaker is demanding "quick passage" of a controversial elections bill that would invalidate
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NH Senate GOP targets students for extra voting hurdles
By Nathan Thomas on Friday, May 24, 2013According to the Union Leader, "The state Senate Thursday passed with strict party line votes legislation that changes the current state voter identification law by removing its clear statutory reference to student IDs as an acceptable form of voter ID." The change would make it far more difficult specifically for New Hampshire college students to vote, and more likely that their votes will be thrown out.
Democrats voted unanimously against the change, which was opposed by "the Young Republicans and Young Democrats groups at several state colleges."
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Colleague's prayer not good enough, according to Arizona Republican
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, May 23, 2013A very sad thing happened on the floor of the Arizona state House on Wednesday. From the Associated Press: "Republican Rep. Steve Smith on Wednesday said the prayer offered by Democratic Rep. Juan Mendez of Tempe at the beginning of the previous day's floor session wasn't a prayer at all. So he asked other members to join him in a second daily prayer in 'repentance,' and about half the 60-member body did so. Both the Arizona House and Senate begin their sessions with a prayer."
According to Rep. Mendez, who identifies as atheist, "'I wanted to find a way to where I could convey some message and take advantage of the opportunity that people have when they offer these prayers,' he said. 'If my lack of religion doesn't give me the same opportunity to engage in this platform then I feel kind of disenfranchised. So I did want to stand up and offer some kind of thing that represented my view on what's going on.'"
Fellow Democratic state Rep. Jamescita Peshlakai was far more outraged by Smith's attack on Mendez' beliefs. "'I want to remind the House and my colleagues and everybody here that several of us here are not Christianized. I'm a traditional Navajo, so I stand here every day and participate in prayers,' even without personally embracing them, said Peshlakai, D-Cameron. 'This is the United States, this is America, and we all represent different people ... and you need to respect that. Your God is no more powerful than my God. We all come from the same creator.'"
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Potentially deadly N.C. bill could prevent emergency health care for minors
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, May 9, 2013When children or teenagers have a medical emergency, their parents may not be immediately available to approve care. But according to the Charlotte Observer, North Carolina House Republicans are advancing dangerous new legislation that could delay the delivery of emergency care by requiring parental consent before teenagers "could receive birth control or be treated for sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse or mental illness."
But the text of HB 693 reveals even more damaging implications than the Observer's report identifies. The bill would make it illegal for doctors and hospitals to provide "services for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of (i) sexually transmitted diseases, including Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (ii) abuse of controlled substances or alcohol, (iii) mental illness, or (iv) pregnancy." And the re-written medical emergency exemption only applies if "a medical emergency exists that so complicates the pregnancy as to require an immediate abortion or the immediate provision of health care services." [emphasis added]
In other words: Hospitals could no longer even diagnose some potentially life-threatening diseases without a parent's consent. Pregnancy tests without a parent's consent could no longer be administered simply to avoid the catastrophic birth defects associated with some medications. And medical emergency exceptions for HIV/AIDS, drug or alcohol overdose, and many other life-threatening conditions would not apply to boys or non-pregnant girls. (Even if a patient were pregnant, how could a doctor legally make that determination, since "diagnosis" of a pregnancy would be illegal while her parents are out of touch?)
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GOP to kick thousands of pregnant women off Medicaid in North Carolina
By Nathan Thomas on Tuesday, June 4, 2013Not content to simply ban Medicaid expansion under Obamacare, North Carolina Republicans have now set about contracting the program for those already insured under current law - starting by kicking thousands of pregnant women off the program.
As first reported by the North Carolina Justice Center, "The budget passed by the North Carolina Senate includes a special provision changing the state’s Medicaid eligibility requirements for pregnant women. Under the Senate provision, starting in 2014, pregnant women earning more than 133 percent of federal poverty level (about $15,282 for a single person) will no longer qualify for Medicaid. Currently, pregnant women earning up to 185 percent of federal poverty level (about $21,256 for a single person) qualify for Medicaid. This change will impact thousands of women."
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Iowa Democrats delivered for the middle class in "landmark" session
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, May 30, 2013Iowa's 2013 legislative session ended with a bang as legislators came together on a number of key priorities affecting the middle class - none more important than the decision to ditch GOP Governor Terry Branstad's wasteful Obamacare alternative and instead expand Medicaid as the Affordable Care Act envisions.
As the Cedar Rapids Gazette explains, "Included among key compromises that Democrats helped forge were commitments to use federal Medicaid dollars to provide health insurance coverage for up to 150,000 low-income Iowans, secure increased funding of 4 percent annually for K-12 school districts for the next two years, provide a significant property tax break for small and Main Street businesses, and double the earned income tax credit for working Iowa families."
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California Rising: With Democratic leaders, chronic deficits become surplus
By Dan Roth on Tuesday, May 28, 2013What a difference a Democrat makes - having a Democrat in the governor’s office and a supermajority in both houses of the legislature, that is.
In 2010, as California’s Republican Governor was on his way out the door, the state was figuring out how to address a $19 billion budget deficit. Huge deficits were nothing new to the Golden State: they had faced a $16 billion deficit in 2008 and a jaw-dropping $41 billion deficit in 2009.
Now, California is facing budget surpluses.
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Idaho Republican blames sheriffs for failure of "jail the cops" gun bill
By Nathan Thomas on Tuesday, May 28, 2013Earlier this year, "Rep. Mark Patterson, R-Boise, sponsored a measure to charge Idaho law enforcement officers with a crime for assisting the federal government in confiscating any newly banned weapons... Had it passed, Idaho law enforcement officers who helped the federal government confiscate any newly banned firearms or ammunition could have faced jail time and a $1,000 fine."
After HB 219 was rejected by the Idaho Senate, however, Patterson "complained to the secretary of state that it was torpedoed by lobbyists who weren’t properly registered." This was despite the fact that the Idaho Sheriffs’ Association and its two officials targeted by the complaint "contend they never took a stand on Patterson’s measure... 'The association didn’t take a position on House Bill 219 as it was decided that each sheriff would determine their stance on what was perceived as a controversial bill.'"
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AP: Democrats strike back against GOP voting restrictions
By Nathan Thomas on Monday, May 20, 2013The Associated Press this morning profiled Democratic efforts across the country to ensure access to the polls for all eligible voters - and Republican efforts to restrict that access in order to win elections.
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New analysis predicts bright future for Georgia Dems
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, June 6, 2013Pollsters Zac McCrary and Brian Stryker of Anzalone Liszt Grove Research published a detailed new report in HuffPost Pollster about the rapidly-approaching future of Peach State politics - and how trends there could reshape national elections for decades to come. Their conclusion: Democrats are ascendant, and national Republicans should be very, very worried.
Here's a sampling: "Georgia is not only among the more competitive GOP-leaning states, but also has become more competitive each of the last two cycles. John Kerry's share of the vote in Georgia lagged his national vote share by 6.9 percentage points.... In 2008, Obama narrowed that gap by a full percentage point to a 5.9 percent disparity... and Obama's 2012 Georgia performance came even closer to his nationwide vote share (5.57 percent vs. national)."
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GOPer who pledged not to "allow minorities to run roughshod" running for re-election
By Nathan Thomas on Thursday, June 6, 2013Arkansas Republican state Sen. Jason Rapert, made infamous by his promise that "we're not gonna allow minorities to run roughshod," just announced his re-election bid in Senate District 35, instantly making him the public face of Republican legislative candidates in 2014.
Last cycle, Republicans were forced to disavow three of their state House nominees (including one incumbent and two former Representatives) for, respectively, advocating "the death penalty for rebellious children," calling slavery "a blessing in disguise" for "the blacks," and describing Abraham Lincoln as a war criminal and a Nazi.
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2014: Michigan Dems keep double-digit early polling lead
By Nathan Thomas on Wednesday, June 5, 2013Michigan Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot by ten points and remain tantalizingly close to the not-so-magic 50% mark, according to numbers just released by Public Policy polling. "Just 27% have a favorable opinion of [legislative Republicans] to 59% with a negative one, and their 25/61 spread with independents is even worse than their overall numbers." Democrats, on the other hand, "look good enough in comparison to the Republicans to hold a 48/38 lead on the generic legislative ballot."
What's dragging down Michigan Republicans? The most likely culprits are Right to Work and GOP Governor Rick Snyder. As PPP's Tom Jensen explains, "Snyder continues to be one of the most unpopular Governors in the country with only 40% of voters approving of him to 52% who disapprove," and "Snyder's role in the passage of right to work legislation continues to be a big problem for him. Just 40% of voters support that law to 50% who oppose it, numbers that have not seen any improvement since the initial furor after it passed in December."
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MN State House: Dems polling high after successful 2013 session
By Nathan Thomas on Tuesday, May 28, 2013According to the most recent survey by Public Policy Polling, "Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot by a 47/41 margin" in Minnesota's 2014 state House races, and DFL legislators enjoy a 23-point net approval advantage over the GOP minority. The state Senate is not up for re-election until 2016.
These numbers must be reassuring to legislative Democrats, who just wrapped up a successful first legislative session since regaining their majorities in 2012. In addition to providing $400 million in property tax relief, the DFL majorities made historic investments in public schools (including universal, all-day kindergarten), expanded access to voting by mail, and made Minnesota the 12th state to grant civil marriage equality.
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Democrats lead NC generic ballot; Republicans and government-mandated religion equally popular
By Nathan Thomas on Friday, May 24, 2013According to results this week from Public Policy Polling, "Democrats lead the generic legislative ballot by a 46/42 margin" in North Carolina. What's causing the GOP doldrums? With the usual caveat that there's no sure way to divine causation in polling results, it may have something to do with the wild unpopularity of the entire Republican agenda in North Carolina - particularly the GOP legislature's recently-unveiled "Everything Tax" on groceries, Social Security, and health care (among other things).
At an astoundingly low 14% support among registered voters, the tax plan is almost as popular as eliminating North Carolina's renewable energy standard (22%) or imposing a special tax on the parents of college students who vote at school (25%), and it's only half as popular as slashing the number of early voting days (33%). The tax plan is, however, twice as popular as a GOP bill to allow legislators to accept gifts from lobbyists (6%).