#national democratic redistricting committee

[tomorrowusa]

A circuit judge in Leon County, which includes the capital of Florida, has struck down Ron DeSantis's gerrymandered US House map for Florida.

A judge in Florida has ruled in favor of voting rights groups that filed a lawsuit against a congressional redistricting map approved by Ron DeSantis in 2022. Voting rights groups had criticized the map for diluting political power in Black communities. In the ruling, Leon county circuit judge J Lee Marsh sent the map back to the Florida legislature to be redrawn in a way that complies with the state’s constitution. “Under the stipulated facts (in the lawsuit), plaintiffs have shown that the enacted plan results in the diminishment of Black voters’ ability to elect their candidate of choice in violation of the Florida constitution,” Marsh wrote in the ruling. The ruling is expected to be appealed by the state, likely putting the case before the Florida supreme court.

DeSantis had rejected a somewhat gerrymandered map his rubber stamp legislature had drawn and insisted that it pass his super-gerrymandered alternative instead. That's the map Judge Marsh threw out.

I don't know how independent the Florida Supreme Court is these days, but that looks like the next stop for this case.

The lawsuit focused on a north Florida congressional district previously represented by the Democrat Al Lawson, who is Black. Lawson’s district was carved up into districts represented by white Republicans. DeSantis vetoed a map that initially preserved Lawson’s district in 2022, submitting his own map and calling a special legislative session demanding state legislators accept it. Judge Marsh rejected claims from Florida Republicans that the state’s provision against weakening or eliminating minority-dominant districts violated the US constitution. “This is a significant victory in the fight for fair representation for Black Floridians,” said Olivia Mendoza, director of litigation and policy for the National Redistricting Foundation, an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, in a statement. “As a result, the current discriminatory map should be replaced with a map that restores the fifth congressional district in a manner that gives Black voters the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.” In 2022, the Florida Legislative Black Caucus labeled the DeSantis-approved congressional map as voter suppression. The map resulted in Florida Republicans picking up four congressional seats in the state, increasing Republican representatives from 16 to 20 out of 28 seats and helping Republicans seal a slim majority in the House in 2022.

Of course DeSantis will complain that permitting fair representation is "woke" and may try to get Judge Marsh fired in retaliation for the ruling.

For fair representation nationally, consider supporting the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Home - National Democratic Redistricting Committee

#florida #gerrymandering #ron desantis #us house of representatives #florida legislature #leon county #j lee marsh #florida supreme court #unconstitutional desantis map #al lawson #african americans #national democratic redistricting committee #fair representation #election 2024

[queenvlion]

#redistricting #national Democratic redistricting committee

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Alabama Republicans, under orders of the U.S. Supreme Court to redraw congressional districts to give minority voters a greater voice in elections, rejected calls Monday to craft a second majority-Black district and proposed a map that could test what is required by the judges’ directive.

Lawmakers must adopt a new map by Friday after the high court in June affirmed a three-judge panel’s ruling that Alabama’s existing congressional map — with a single Black district out of seven statewide — likely violated the Voting Rights Act. In a state where more than one in four residents is Black, the lower court panel had ruled in 2022 that Alabama should have another majority-Black congressional district or something “close to it” so Black voters have the opportunity to “elect a representative of their choice.”

Republicans, who have been resistant to creating a certain Democratic district, proposed a map that would increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd congressional district from about 30% to nearly 42.5%, wagering that will satisfy the court’s directive.

House Speaker Pro Tempore Chris Pringle, who serves as co-chairman of the state redistricting committee, said the proposal complies with the order to provide a district in which Black voters have the “opportunity to elect the representative of their choice.”

“The goal here, for me, was to provide an opportunity for African-Americans to be elected to Congress in the second congressional district,” Pringle said.

However, the National Redistricting Foundation, one of the groups that backed challenges to the Alabama map, called the proposal “shameful” and said it would be challenged.

“It is clear that Alabama Republicans are not serious about doing their job and passing a compliant map, even in light of a landmark Supreme Court decision,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation.

She called that a pattern seen throughout the state’s history “where a predominately white and Republican legislature has never done the right thing on its own, but rather has had to be forced to do so by a Court.”

The Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment approved the proposal in a 14-6 vote that fell along party lines. The proposal was introduced as legislation Monday afternoon as lawmakers convened a special session to adopt a new map by a Friday deadline set by the three-judge panel. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter said he believes the new district will be a swing district that could elect either a Democratic candidate or a Republican.

“I think that the models will show that it could go either way, probably. I think all the court’s asked for was a fair chance. I certaintly think that map does it. I don’t think there’s any question about that,” Ledbetter said.

Democrats accused Republicans of rushing the process and thwarting the court’s directive.

Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, a Democrat from Mobile, said the court was clear that the state should create a second majority-Black district or something close to it.

“42% is not close to 50. In my opinion 48, 49 is close to 50,” Figures said. She had urged colleagues to adopt a proposal by the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case that would make the 2nd district 50% Black.

Under the Republican plan, the state would continue to have one majority Black district, which is now represented by Rep. Terri Sewell. The Black voting age population of that district would drop from about 55% to 51.6%

Rep. Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, said he also doesn’t think the GOP proposal would satisfy the court’s directive. He said Republican lawmakers pushed through their proposal without a public hearing or producing an analysis of the partisan leanings of the district.

“The map that we adopted, nobody had any input on. There was no public input on it, not subject to a public hearing — and now it’s going to be the map of choice,” England said.

Deuel Ross, a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund who argued the case before the Supreme Court, said they will challenge the proposal if it is enacted by the Alabama Legislature.

“Any plan with a low Black voting age population does not appear to comply with the Court’s instruction,” Ross wrote in an email.

Partisan politics underlies the looming redistricting fight. A higher percentage of Black voters increases the chances that a the seat will switch from GOP to Democratic control.

Pollster Zac McCrary said predicting a district’s partisan leanings depends on a number of metrics, but “getting a district too far below the mid 40s in terms of Black voter composition could certainly open the door for Republicans.”

#us politics #news #the associated press #ap news #2023 #alabama #us supreme court #scotus #republicans #conservatives #redistricting #gerrymandering #congressional districts #congressional maps #Voting Rights Act #Chris Pringle #Alabama Legislature #National Redistricting Foundation #Marina Jenkins #Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment #Nathaniel Ledbetter #Vivian Davis Figures #Terri Sewell #Chris England #Deuel Ross #NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund #Zac McCrary #Allen v. Milligan

[mariacallous]

Joe Biden needs to lawyer up. He’s about to see an onslaught of investigations into him, his appointees and their conduct that will now be launched by Republican-controlled congressional committees. It’s not impossible that a Republican-controlled congress could even try to push for his impeachment.

The Republicans squeaked out a bare majority in the House of Representatives this week, with a final tally of 218 Republican seats to 211 Democratic ones. The Republicans performance was abysmal compared to the predictions, with anger over abortion bans and Republican antipathy toward democracy driving voters into the Democratic tent. But the huge structural advantages of being the opposition party in a midterm election, along with some help from gerrymandered redistricting plans blessed by the Republican-majority US supreme court, pushed the Republicans over the top. Now, they are poised to use their new investigatory power in Congress to launch a slew of inquiries into the Biden administration, over matters ranging from the grave to the absurdly trivial.

Biden and his administration won’t need to commit any grave misconduct to attract this kind of official scrutiny over the coming two years. Just being Democrats will be enough; combined with the paranoia and tendency for dark conspiracies that now pervade the American right, the House Republicans are likely to assume that they’ll find something amiss in the Biden world.

Through the House Oversight and Reform Committee, the Republicans are likely to launch a slew of investigations: into the origins of Covid-19 and the lab leak theory; into immigration through the US-Mexico border and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan; and into their favorite topic of conversation, the president’s perennially slimy ne’er-do-well son, Hunter Biden. These inquiries will bloom and multiply, persisting even if they find no real evidence of wrongdoing – like old world witch hunts, or voter fraud investigations after a Democratic electoral victory.

In some sense, this is typical: oversight investigations always ramp up when Congress and the White House are controlled by different parties. But this will not be a divided government like we’ve seen in decades past, with mere gridlock and ineffectualness. This will be messier, more base; it will be degraded, and nationally embarrassing.

The conspiracy-peddling Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a rising star in the Republican party, is reportedly vying for a seat on the committee, giving some sense of the tenor that Republican investigations will take. The Republicans will now embark on a two year public attack on the Biden administration, equipped with subpoena power and the ability to command national attention.

With Speaker Kevin McCarthy desperate to control every member of his boisterous but narrow caucus, it’s likely that the Republican leadership will find themselves obliged to cater to the fringe grievances of even their most extreme members. This means that they will use their House majority to gin up controversies out of minor or imaginary misconduct, to cast aspersions on the honesty and character of Biden and his sympathizers, to suggest malfeasance where there is none, and above all, to create clips that look good on TV – the kind of 10-second snippet that can make a Republican voter angry, and which provide the quick rhythms of a 2024 attack ad.

Biden administration officials are downplaying all this. Some of them told Politico off the record that they think the investigations might even be a good thing for the Democrats. “There is a growing confidence in the White House that the House Republicans clamoring for a hodgepodge of investigations will overreach – and that their attempts will backfire politically, with key voters recoiling at blatant partisan rancor.” “It might make the base feel good,” said one White House ally, “and it’s going to give Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene something awesome to say on their live stream, but it’s not going to be what convinces suburban women in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.”

Maybe the source is right: maybe the Republicans will overreach with their oversight power, the way they overreached with election denial and abortion bans, and voters will be repulsed. But to me, this sounds like wishful thinking – or like the kind of blustering optimism that a politician would project to a reporter in order to keep the public from seeing how screwed he is.

The fact is that the Republicans have long been much more successful than the Democrats at dictating the terms of the national conversation – a disparity in skills that this past midterm cycle has only made more clear. They are bolder and more aggressive; they are almost preternaturally talented at putting the Democratic party on the defensive. The hearings that arise out of these investigations are not likely to be very substantive; they are not likely to be edifying for voters or healthy for the republic. But they’re certain to be good TV.

There are a lot of tasks that Republicans will take up as they assume their majority. They’ll obstruct the Biden agenda; they’ll stymie his foreign policy priorities; they seem determined to hold the national debt hostage in order to force drastic cuts to Social Security and Medicare, the two programs that provide support to America’s elderly. But no one should underestimate their appetite for investigations, no matter how trivial or pretextual the investigations might seem.

When Republicans assume control over the House of Representatives in January, they will form a majority coalition that is even more rancorous and punitive than they were when they last held the chamber in 2018. The Republican party has changed since Trump was forced from office. Some, like Florida governor and 2024 hopeful Ron DeSantis, seem to think that the party is ready to move beyond the cult of personality that it became in the Trump years, ready to pursue Trumpism as an ideology separate from Trump the man.

But the revolution that Trump led within the Republican party is complete. Dissenters have been purged: It’s a fully Trumpist party now, both in the sense of its extremist, anger-driven politics, and in the sense of its shameless bombast and tactical hyperbole. The Republican Congress that will now take power is one that is much less committed to democracy, and much more beholden to baseless conspiracy theories.

Above all, it is a party laser-focused on partisan grievance, in thrall to a base whose identity as Republicans, and whose hatred for Democrats, seems to compose greater and greater proportions of their psychic life. The Republicans – and their core voters – are obsessed with punishment and revenge against Democrats, an obsession that seems likely to persist even after the chastening midterms. We should expect they will use every new power this election has given them to pursue it.

[wisconsinprelawland-blog]

Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly Advance to Wisconsin Supreme Court General Election

By Iyanu Osunmo, Lawrence University Class of 2023

March 6, 2023

Wisconsin State Supreme Court candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly have advanced through the primaries to the general election, which will be held on April 4, 2023. Upon winning the race, either Protasiewicz or Kelly will serve on the court for a 10-year term [2]. The court has a conservative 4-3 majority, therefore, the victor of this race will determine whether the court has a liberal or conservative majority [2]. While Kelly secured roughly 24% of the votes, Protasiewicz acquired 46%. This race is among the most important this year, as it will determine the fate of Wisconsin’s abortion ban, redistricting, schools, and voting rights [4].

Notably, the Wisconsin Supreme Court race is already the most expensive judicial race in United States history [5]. In under a week into the general election, candidates spent $18 million [5]. Protasiewicz’s campaign has received millions from Democrats, while Republican groups have invested $1 million in advertisements to bolster Kelly’s campaign [5]. This election also saw high voter turnout: 960,000 voters headed to the polls [6].

According to Wisconsin state Democratic party chair Ben Wikler, this election “is the hinge on which Wisconsin’s political future will swing. And Wisconsin is the hinge on which national politics swings” [6].

Protasiewicz, a liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Judge, has shattered fundraising records, raising four times more money than her competitors in the primary and more than all other candidates combined [3]. Furthermore, she has received an endorsement from Emily’s List, a pro-choice political action committee [2]. If Protasiewicz emerges victorious, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will have a liberal majority for the first time since 2008 [4]. If the court has a liberal majority, then numerous republican-backed policies could be jeopardized, including Wisconsin’s private-school voucher program [5].

Protasiewicz spoke candidly about her stance on divisive issues and emphasized her values when reaching out to voters [4]. Seemingly, she has also chosen to use Kelly’s stance on abortion and his previous career as a defense attorney against him [6].

Protasiewicz has asserted that she “values a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive healthcare decisions with her doctor, family, and faith” [4]. She has also expressed that she values democracy and reaffirmed the right of every Wisconsinite to be represented [4].

During his primary campaign, Daniel Kelly raised $470,000–a fraction of what his competitor earned [4]. However, Kelly has benefited greatly from CEO and GOP mega-donor Richard Uihlein’s $1.5 million donation to Fair Courts America, which is a group that has backed his campaign [4]. Thus far, Fair Courts America has purchased over $2.4 million in ad buys [4]. While he has not stated how he would rule on Attorney General Josh Kaul’s lawsuit asserting that Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion law is unenforceable, Kelly has also received the support of certain grassroots organizations, including Wisconsin Right to Life and Wisconsin Family Action [4].

Daniel Kelly is also a Donald Trump supporter who advised Republicans on legal avenues for overturning the 2020 presidential election results [7]. Consequently, Kelly was involved with Trump allies’ endeavor to reverse the 2020 presidential election results in Wisconsin using “fake electors” [7]. Even so, Jim Dick–Daniel Kelly’s campaign spokesperson–has stated that Kelly "believes Joe Biden is the duly elected president of the United States" [7].

Kelly has asserted, “If we do not resist this assault on our Constitution and our liberties, we will lose the Rule of Law, and will find ourselves saddled with the Rule of Janet…We must not allow this to come to pass" [4].

According to the senior adviser to Kelly’s campaign Ben Voelkel, Democrats’ strategy of rendering the election a “single-issue” contest on abortion was shortsighted because conservatives are likely to oppose Protasiewicz by targeting her stances on gun rights and charter schools [6]. Voelkel also indicated that the Kelly campaign would use her judicial record against her.

“She had very, very lenient sentences for some people who committed very heinous crimes,” Voelkel asserted [6].

This election, which is the largest of 2023, has undoubtedly captured the attention of political stakeholders across the nation because of the implications that it will have on numerous crucial issues, such as abortion, in Wisconsin and across the country.

______________________________________________________________

[1]Bauer, S. (2023, February 21). Protasiewicz, Kelly Advance in 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court Primary. PBS Wisconsin. https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/protasiewicz-kelly-advance-in-2023-wisconsin-supreme-court-primary/

[2]Edelman, A. (2023, February 22). Trump Ally Advances in Wisconsin State Supreme Court Race. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/daniel-kelly-wisconsin-supreme-court-trump-fake-electors-rcna71276

[3]Henry Redman, W. E. F. 13. (2023, February 13). Protasiewicz' fundraising advantage continues. Wisconsin Examiner. https://wisconsinexaminer.com/brief/protasiewicz-fundraising-advantage-continues/

[4]Johnson, S. (2023, February 23). Janet Protasiewicz, Dan Kelly to face off in high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court Election. Wisconsin Public Radio. https://www.wpr.org/janet-protasiewicz-wisconsin-supreme-court-primary-election-results-dan-kelly-jennifer-dorow-everett-mitchell

[5]Beck, M. (2023, March 1). Wisconsin's Supreme Court race is already the most expensive in U.S. history, and there are still 5 weeks to go. Journal Sentinel. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/02/28/wisconsin-supreme-court-race-already-most-expensive-in-u-s-history/69955195007/

[6]Montellaro, Z., & Messerly, M. (2023, February 27). The biggest election of 2023 reaches final sprint. POLITICO. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/27/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-00084406

[7]Edelman, A. (2023, February 21). Trump ally advances in Wisconsin State Supreme Court Race. NBCNews.com. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/daniel-kelly-wisconsin-supreme-court-trump-fake-electors-rcna71276

[lboogie1906]

The Congressional Black Caucus is a caucus made up of mostly African-American members of Congress. Representative Steven Horsford from Nevada is the chair. The caucus has historically been non-partisan. The predecessor to the caucus was founded in January 1969 as the Democratic Select Committee by a group of African American members of the House of Representatives, including Shirley Chisholm, Louis Stokes, and William L. Clay. African American representatives had begun to enter the House in increasing numbers. Congressional redistricting and other factors in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement resulted in the number of African American Congress members increasing from nine to thirteen. The first chairman, Charles Diggs, served from 1969 to 1971. This organization was renamed the Congressional Black Caucus on February 1, 1971, on the motion of Charles B. Rangel. The thirteen founding members of the caucus were Shirley Chisholm, Bill Clay, George W. Collins, John Conyers, Ron Dellums, Charles Diggs, Augustus F. Hawkins, Ralph Metcalfe, Parren Mitchell, Robert N.C. Nix Sr., Charles Rangel, Louis Stokes, and Walter E. Fauntroy. President Richard Nixon refused to meet with the newly formed group, and so the CBC chose to boycott the State of the Union address, leading to their first joint press coverage. Nixon met with the CBC, who presented him with a 32-page document including "recommendations to eradicate racism, provide quality housing for African American families, and promote the full engagement of blacks in government". All the members of the caucus were included on the master list of Nixon's political opponents. The CBC wrote and released two documents: the Black Declaration of Independence and the Black Bill of Rights. The Black Bill of Rights includes sections on jobs and the economy, foreign policy, education, housing, public health, minority enterprise, drugs, prison reform, black representation in government, civil rights, voting rights in DC, and the military. These documents were inspired by the National Black Political Convention and its manifesto, The Gary Declaration: Black Politics at the Crossroads. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CoMxyFFrjDv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[sokoloffweinstein]

Positively Osceola News At Present, Osceola County's Main And Trusted Supply For News! By Positively Osceola

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#legal

[ledenews]

Fluharty Fights the Fight for All Northern Panhandle Residents

There’s too much “me” in Charleston and not enough “we,” Del. Shawn Fluharty insists. “And as a Democrat, I’ve never been a member of the majority party,” the lawmaker said. “But it’s different now, and it’s not the good kind of different.” Fluharty was first elected to one of two seats in House District 3 in Ohio County, but now he’s running for re-election in the newly formed District 5 thanks to the single-delegate redistricting. He was elevated to Minority Whip in January 2021 and served as minority chair of the Workforce Development Committee during the past year in Charleston. Although Fluharty is just one of 22 Democrat members of the House of Delegates, the delegate makes sure his opinions are heard during the chamber’s floor sessions. W.Va. Del. Shawn Fluharty “I have always believed that we should have the fight and let it be an open fight on the battlefield, and if you lose, you lose, and if you win, you win. But at least have a fair fight,” the lawmaker insisted. “But that’s not how the process has been recently. It’s much different than when I was first elected in 2014. “I think a lot of it has to do with national politics trickling down to the states and even to the local levels,” he said. “Things have changed, and that’s my number one problem with the way things are going down in Charleston right now. We’ve really lost the process, and I feel that’s why a lot of people have lost faith in government.” Fluharty gets heard, that’s for sure, and frequently he makes the local news. “The fight is simply doing what you feel is right for the people in your district and throughout the Northern Panhandle. That’s how I’ve looked at it on Day One. That’s why I’ve fought for things like medical cannabis even before it was politically popular to do so,” Fluharty recalled. “I remember people saying that we could never have medical cannabis here, and, well, here we are with medical cannabis. “Taking those difficult positions is part of the fight, and when you know what you are doing is what your constituents want you to do, you have no doubt,” he said. “You can win or lose an election as long as you can sleep well at night and still have your integrity. If that’s the case then I’m OK with it, but I’ll never shy away from fighting for the people in my district.” "Bluto" is a rescue from the Ohio County Animal Shelter and the incumbent has had him on the campaign trail the past couple of weeks. Good Ideas. Bad Ideas. An angle taken by leaders of the National Republican Party involves broad stroking all Democrats as spend-crazy liberals, but throughout Fluharty’s legislative career he has searched for revenue generators that would benefit not only the state’s coffers but also Mountain State residents.    Medical cannabis is one of them, and sports and iGaming are two more. One little-known effort of Fluharty’s involved Amendment II, one of four constitutional proposals that will appear on the ballot in West Virginia. Property Tax Modernization AmendmentTo amend the State Constitution by providing the Legislature with authority to exempt tangible machinery and equipment personal property directly used in business activity and tangible inventory personal property directly used in business activity and personal property tax on motor vehicles from ad valorem property taxation by general law. “Putting personal property taxes in there? That was my idea, that was my proposal, and that was my amendment on the House floor, and it passed 98-2, so, yes, I can get good things accomplished even though I am only one of 22 Democrats in the House,” Fluharty said. “I know there are a lot of people who are against it, and I know their arguments have merit, but they would not have been able to vote for or against it if my amendment was discarded because of my party. “In its original form, it included only the Business Inventory Tax, but now it involves the residents of West Virginia,” he said. “So, we’ll see what the voters say about the four amendments that’ll be our ballots.” Despite the pandemic, Fluharty remained active with local non-profit organizations. W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice, however, has campaigned against the constitutional change an approved Amendment II would allow because he is promoting the idea of a step-by-step elimination of West Virginia’s income tax. The governor, in fact, has informed residents that he believes lawmakers in Charleston have forgotten about the people in the Northern Panhandle and that GOP supermajority should not be trusted. While the governor’s criticism may be new for Mountain State Republicans, Fluharty has grown used to ignoring what he calls, “Justice’s games.” “Let’s just say I probably will not get a Christmas card from Jim, but that’s OK. I get plenty so it’s OK. I’ll survive,” Fluharty said with a broad grin. “Seriously, it depends on the issue as far as how I’m getting along with Gov. Justice, but there have been times when he has taken the time to listen and learn, and medical cannabis is one of those issues. “The governor has his views of the world, and I have mine. We agree on a few things and disagree on many things, but that’s politics. There’s nothing wrong with that,” the lawmaker said. “At the end of the day I’d still shake his hand and tell him good game, but it still depends on who won and who lost. That always matters, and that’s why I fight so hard for the people of my district.” Read the full article

[opedguy]

Newsom Denies He’s Running in 2024

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Sept. 28, 2022.--Finding himself in the press more-and-more, 53-tear-old Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom denied that he’s considering 2024 presidental run, saying emphatically, “no” to the press when asked his plans.  Whether or not you can trust Newsom’s words is anyone’s guess.  He’s mentioned on short-lists of possible presidential candidates, after 79-year-old President Joe Biden hinted Sept. 18 on CBS “60  Minutes” that he’s on the fence about running again, with many senior members of the Democrat Party, urging Biden not to run.  Newsom, one of the most liberal members of the Democrat Party, thinks the issues for Biden involve philosophical disagreements with Republicans.  Newsom, who was once married to 53-year-old Fox News conservative Atty. Kimberly Guilfoyle, currently dating Don Trump Jr., thinks Biden comes from a different era where political compromise was possible.

Newsom’s belief that the Democrat Party must battle conservative Republicans gives a free X-Ray into how he would rule.. President Biden has “learned the hard way” that he can’t unite MAGA Republicans, Democrats and independents.  Newsom, who survived a conservative recall Sept. 14, 2021 election in California, said it’s a “fools errand” to try to compromise with Republicans.  Five weeks from the Midterm election, the vote won’t be about philosophy but about real-life pocket book issues, related to inflation and the gas pump.  Whatever relief consumers got at the gas pump last month, prices have already rebounded one dollar a gallon, pushing voters further from the Democrats Party.  Democrats want to make the Midterms about Roe v. Wade or “fascism,” but voters know firsthand that life under Biden his much harder than it was under former President Donald Trump.

Newsom’s commentary about the current state of Democrats and Republicans continues to raise questions about his intent in 2014.  “I mean, he’s [Biden’s] hardwired for a different world, but that world is gone and he’s acknowledge that very publicly on multiple occasions,” Newsom said, referring to Biden’s attempt to compromise and work with both parties on Capitol Hill.  “He wants to compromise, he wants to find our better angels, and he wants to find that sweet spot in terms of answering our collective vision and values,” Newsom said.  “But that’s not how the system is designed,” saying, if he were ever president, he would push only Democrat causes. Newsom’s remarks, though   awkward, speaks volumes about how he rules in California and how he’d rule on the national stage.  Newsom sees skirmishes between Democrats and Republicans impossible to resolve through compromise.

Newsom recently took out ads in Florida challenging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a debate over immigration policy, especially whether shipping migrants to Washington, D.C., New York City and Martha’s Vineyard was appropriate. Newsom thought DeSantis’s actions warranted a referral to Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland for treating migrants inhumanely, breaking U.S. immigration laws.  Stepping into the national debate on migrants, Newsom sure looks like he’s setting himself up for a presidential run, despite his denials.  Newsom complained about the Supreme Court’s redistricting efforts, or voter suppression efforts represent right now for “the rights that are being rolled back in real time,” acting like he’s focused on national issues that mean something to Democrats.  Democrats don’t seem focused on the economy or foreign policy, where Biden has failed.

Newsom agrees with Biden’s recent remarks that Trump’s MAGA supporters are “semi-fascists,” a common refrain against the former president. Democrats think they can run on the same issues in the 2022 Midterms, where they hope the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade will galvanize enough women to vote Democrat.  Calling Trump as threat to U.S. democracy was the same message delivered by the Jan. 6 House Select Committee where Republicans Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill) say daily that Trump is a threat to U.S. democracy. Newsom fits right in the anti-Trump crowd, that blames Trump for racism, xenophobia, homophobia and everything evil in American.  Cheney and Kinzinger never talk about Trump’s foreign policy or his management of the economy with low inflation, low gas prices, prosperity and peace in the world.

Newsom thinks all Republicans threaten American democracy, asking Democrats for fight harder to keep them out of office.  “Well, we’re been doing that, and people are losing their rights,” Newsom said.  “We’ve got to hold them accountable and, yes, we prepare ourselves for a great reconciliation,” making zero sense.  Newsom thinks that Biden operates from an unrealistic age of compromise, needing to get tough with Republicans.  When Biden said MAGA Republicans were “semi-fascists,” he signaled tat he’s on the same page as Newsom, no longer able to compromise with Republicans.  Whether Newsom can translate his message for anyone to understand him remains a question mark?  Newsom says “no” when asked if he’ll run in 2024.  When he says no, it doesn’t add up with his attempt to lull DeSantis into a debate, letting voters know that he’s seeking national attention.

About the Author  

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[staneclectic]

[lboogie1906]

Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is a lawyer who served as the 82nd AG of the US from 2009 to 2015. He, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African American to hold the position of US AG. Born in New York City. He graduated from Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College, and Columbia Law School. He worked for the Public Integrity Section of the DOJ for 12 years. He next served as a judge of the SC of the DC before being appointed by President Bill Clinton as US Attorney DC and Deputy AG. While US Attorney, he prosecuted Congressman Dan Rostenkowski for corruption charges related to his role in the Congressional Post Office scandal. Following the Clinton administration, he worked at the law firm of Covington & Burling in DC. He was a senior legal advisor to Barack Obama during Obama's presidential campaign and one of three members of Obama's vice-presidential selection committee. He was a close ally and confidant of Obama's and was selected as President Obama's first AG. He returned to Covington & Burling, where he continues to practice, and is involved with efforts at gerrymandering reform through the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. He married Sharon Malone, an obstetrician, and they have three children. He has been involved with various mentoring programs for inner-city youth. He is an avid basketball fan and the uncle of former NBA All-Star Jeff Malone. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CnrRRI6ODgE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[billmaher]

HBO Real Time June 3, 2022

Guest List: June 3, 2022

The Interview: Eric Holder is the former US Attorney General who is now Chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and co-author of Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote - A History, A Crisis, A Plan.

Twitter: @EricHolder

________________________________________

The Panel: Michael Shellenberger is a California gubernatorial candidate, co-founder of California Peace Coalition, and author of San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities.

Twitter: @ShellenbergerMD

Douglas Murray is a columnist for the New York Post and The Sun, and author of the New York Times bestselling book The War on the West: How to Prevail in the Age of Unreason.

Twitter: @DouglasKMurray

Tag your questions for this week’s guests with #RTOvertime and watch them answer after the show on the Real Time YouTube channel!

#HBO Real Time Guests

[whenweallvote]

We're thrilled to include Eric Holder  — 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of National Democratic Redistricting Committee — in our first-ever #CultureOfDemocracy Summit, June 10-13 in Los Angeles! 

The Summit will explore the impact of voting on criminal justice reform, reproductive rights, and climate justice; how the voting landscape is impacted by voter suppression; and culture’s role in shaping democracy. 

Get your tickets at democracysummit.org.

[democracyin-news]

Eric Holder, ex-attorney general: Republicans 'cheat' in elections

Eric Holder, ex-attorney general: Republicans ‘cheat’ in elections

Former attorney general Eric Holder said the country’s democracy is in need of a “serious renovation,” claiming Republicans practicing gerrymandering threaten voting rights.  Holder, the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, criticized laws aimed at suppressing voter turnout and took aim at Republicans he believed to be redrawing electoral maps to splinter Democratic bases…

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[still4hill]

Hillary Clinton: How the National Democratic Redistricting Committee is fighting gerrymandering

Hillary Clinton: How the National Democratic Redistricting Committee is fighting gerrymandering

When this country was founded, voting was a right for some and a pipe dream for others. While generations of courageous advocates and leaders have helped extend that right to more and more people, the “one voice, one vote” system is still up against the mass gerrymandering that has happened under Republican-controlled state legislatures and governorships since the 2010 elections.Our friends at…

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#Hillary Clinton #Hillary Rodham Clinton #National Democratic Redistricting Committee #Onward Together

[ml-pnp]

#national democratic redistricting committee