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Late Tuesday,The Washington Post's Ashley Parker published a story about Vice President Mike Pence's relationship with his wife. By Thursday morning, thousands of liberals had attacked Pence as a sexist bigot for simple steps he reportedly takes to honor his wife and avoid any appearance of infidelity in their marriage.

"This is a medieval vision of every man as an incorrigible adulterer or rapist, lest he be restrained by his wife's presence by his side," tweeted Arnand Giridharidas, an author who used to write forThe New York Times.

What is Mike Pence's alleged "medieval vision"? As Parker reported, "In 2002, Mike Pence told The Hill that he never eats alone with a woman other than his wife and that he won't attend events featuring alcohol without her by his side, either."

Perhaps, following the major scandal of President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, Pence decided to avoid any appearance of impropriety or infidelity, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Mike Pence had served in Congress for years, and had major political ambitions. He did end up becoming governor of Indiana and vice president to boot.

Pence and his wife (not to mention his campaign manager or chief of staff) may have set ground rules to make certain no enterprising photographer could snap a picture intended as blackmail later on or a juicy story on a left-wing website. Stranger things have happened.

But Social Justice Warriors on Twitter had a different interpretation Pence's personal self-limitations are ... the right-wing version of Sharia law!

"Sincere question," tweeted left-wing journalist and cancer survivor Xeni Jardin. "How is this different from extreme repressive interpretations of Islam ('Sharia Law!') mocked by people like Mike Pence."

Answering Miss Jardin is rather easy Pence's self-limitations are not intended to be normative for anyone besides Mike Pence. They are not imposed by a particular religion or denomination, but are politically understandable (if perhaps rather stringent) voluntaryground rules.

But nevermind according to Jardin, Pence's very eyes reveal he's a rapist.

Greg Carlstrom, a Middle East correspondent for theTimes andThe Economist, took up Miss Jardin's Sharia comparison: "Mike Pence sounds a lot like the Muslim Brotherhood officials I've interviewed."

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Liberals Attack Mike Pence for Being Faithful to His Wife - PJ Media

Till 1991, decades of central planning, licence raj and big government had crushed the confidence of Indian youth in their ability to compete globally. Liberalisation changed all that. India integrated into the global economy, started modernising, and its national income shot up. No longer was it necessary to wait for ones relatives settled abroad to bring in tiny blocks of imported cheese. No longer was it necessary to apply for permissions in triplicate to get foreign exchange.

But something was amiss. For whatever reason, no one was stepping forward to claim credit for this Big Bang reform. No leader told us why liberalisation is good. And the many failures of basic governance continued, unabated. Two things stood out in particular: low levels of freedom and high levels of corruption.

Even today, nearly 70 years after independence, India ranks close to the bottom of the world in all global indicators of freedom and justice. And we have a Censor Board, we have laws about matters that should be within the purview of religion, and our governments directly manage or fund religious bodies and events.

As far as corruption is concerned, my stint in the IAS since 1982 showed me that Indias politicians were hopelessly corrupt and that corruption always started from the top. I was getting sick of serving under these despicable leaders.

In 1998 i decided to look for a political solution. Joining mainstream parties was not an option because of their involvement in corruption. What i was looking for was a liberal party that would fight for a small but strong government, for free markets and for equality of opportunity (not equal outcomes). It would form a government that undertakes a limited role of defence, security and justice. Such a government would have very little discretion in regulating peoples social preferences or economic affairs except to the extent they physically harm others. Such a government would never be allowed to use taxpayers money to operate businesses such as Air India or Ashok hotel.

Since the reforms needed for this to happen would require controlling the central government, this party would have to be national (as opposed to regional).

After an initial failed discussion with a few liberals about forming such a party, i resigned from the IAS in 2001 and moved to Australia to learn about modern governance and to continue my search for a liberal party. The key was to find leaders to take this forward. In a book that i wrote in 2008 to outline policies that such a party would implement, i invited liberals to form a team. This team grew bigger and we launched the Swarna Bharat Party in 2013. A huge task lay ahead.

SBP offers the vision of a golden India, an India that would lead the world in freedom and wealth, an India capable of competing with the best in every field. An SBP government would perform core functions (which current governments do not much care for) and leave the people alone to live their lives in a manner consistent with their beliefs (or lack thereof). It goes without saying that an SBP government would treat everyone equally under the law, not divide them on the basis of religion, caste, language or class.

Liberalism is the belief that we are born free and that freedom is the highest value. Liberalism is the idea that the common man is sovereign and the government is our servant. It is the belief that through their own free endeavours the people can achieve material (and for those so inclined, spiritual) prosperity: even greatness. And it is the belief that if anyone is left behind after putting his best foot forward then the government should top up such a persons income and lift him above dire poverty.

SBP is growing steadily. There is a small but growing group of young Indians, widely travelled, who understand that working together to increase liberty is pivotal to Indias success. But what about the other new parties that have found favour with the youth? Unfortunately, despite their good intentions, they are offering old wine (socialism and freebies) in a new bottle. One would hope they examine the proven benefits of liberty and reconsider their by now outdated approach.

Unlike in the UK or in the USA, the idea of liberty is skin deep in India. We have no counterpart of the 1215 Magna Carta or the 1689 Bill of Rights. We fought for independence from foreign rule, not so much to advance our personal economic, political and social liberties. Till today, our countrys conservative and socialist leadership operates on the premise that for Indians liberty does not matter.

The first stage will be to awaken the people. We will need to show them the enormous benefits of liberty and the real solutions to their problems, not the hype of Jan Lokpal or the magic of demonetisation. And it will be good enough initially if those who understand liberty step forward to contest elections. Winning will happen when its time comes.

I invite those interested in good governance to assess SBPs manifesto. Gokhale, Ambedkar and Rajaji were among Indias early liberals. Now it is time for a new generation of liberals to lead.

If this task is undertaken with persistence, the day will come when India votes for a liberal party. And then Indias reform journey and journey to freedom can finally begin.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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For a liberal India: The country now has its first liberal party, the Swarna Bharat Party - Times of India (blog)

Alberta Liberal Leader David Swann. David Bloom / David Bloom

As the Liberal leadership race sputters into gear, talk of a broader effort of uniting Albertas centrists is heating up with the involvement of former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel.

Friday is the deadline for candidates for leadership of the provincial Liberals to submit their papers to the party, with two having done so by midday: David Khan and Kerry Cundal.

Khan, a lawyer who has run twice previously for the Liberals, definitely intends to run while Cundal, a lawyer and former federal candidate, hasnt yet made a final decision on whether she will contest the leadership.

FILE PHOTO: David Khan Submitted

In an interview Friday, Khan said he wants to rebuild the Alberta Liberals, who currently hold only one legislature seat the Calgary-Mountain View ridingof leader David Swann.

Weve got a great opportunity to rebuild this party and provide a real middle-of-the-road option for most Albertans who arent far-right or left, said the 42-year-old Khan, who ran for the party in Calgary-Buffalo in the 2015 provincial election and in Calgary-West in a 2014 byelection.

Cundal, who is an adviser to federal Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, declined to comment further as she weighs whether to enter the race. St. Albert mayor Nolan Crouse had been running for the Liberal leadership but abruptly pulled out earlier this week.

The formal start of the Liberal race comes as the election of former Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney as the leader of the Progressive Conservatives on a platform of unifying with the Wildrose has given new impetus to the idea of uniting moderates in the province.

Former Edmonton mayor and PC cabinet minister Stephen Mandel is one of the organizers of a meeting in Red Deer in two weeks that will bring together membersof the Liberals, the Alberta Party and some Progressive Conservatives.

In an interview Friday, Mandel downplayed what he said is a very preliminary meeting but said it is being held to discuss whether theres a willingness to join together.

Theres a lot of people talking about how to bring the centre together and a lot of people talk to me about it and I said, Ill see what I can do about bringing people together and see what happens,' he said.

Mandel said that on a personal level he thinks the PCs uniting with the Wildrose and shifting rightward is a bad idea.

Theres a tremendous number of people who think some of the Progressive has been lost (in the PC party), he said, numbering himself in that group.

Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark, who holds his partys only seat in the legislature, has confirmed he will attend the April 15 Red Deer meeting.

Clark, who has been hosting meet-ups across the province since the PC leadership vote, said the Mandel event is just one of many discussions being held about unifying centrists.

Theres a recognition that those of us in the centre need to get behind one thing anyone who wants to have that conversation, Im all in, said the Calgary-Elbow MLA.

Clark said that if common ground and shared values are found, he will advocate for the Alberta Party as the best vehicle to move forward. However, he said hewill listen to arguments for a different path, such as cooperation or a new party.

Khan said he had only recently heard about the meeting but he is interested in whats happening.

Im open to discussions with Albertans across the spectrum, he said.

jwood@postmedia.com

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Liberals prep for leadership race as talk of uniting moderates heats up - Calgary Herald

Over the last two decades, there has never been a bigger divide between white Republicans and Democrats when it comes to views of the intelligence and work ethic of African Americans, according to the new General Social Survey.

The GSS is a wide-ranging study of cultural and political attitudes done annually by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The bevy of data is all available here.

Because the survey is so extensive, it can drill down on issues that don't feature in regular national polls. Among them are racial attitudes and views ofhow the races are different from one another.

And something happened in the newly released 2016 data: The partisan gaps among whites were as wide or wider than we've seen since the survey first started asking most of these questions in the 1990s.It's not that white Republicans' views of African Americans have dimmed so much as that they haven'tkept pace with those of white Democrats. But in some cases, the GOP has moved in the other direction.

The biggest yawning gap between Democrats and Republicans is on the issue of motivation and will power. The GSS asks whether African Americans are worse off economically because most just don't have the motivation or will power to pull themselves up out of poverty?

A majority 55 percent of white Republicans agreed with this statement, compared to 26 percent of white Democrats. That's the biggest gap since the question was first asked in 1977 though the gap was similar (60-32) in 2010.

The survey also askspeople to rate the races on how hard-working or lazy they are, which allows us to compare whether people rate some higher than others.

In this case, 42 percent of white Republicans rated African Americans as being lazier than whites, versus 24 percent of white Democrats. That 18-point gap is the second-biggest on record, behind 2010 (19 points).

The gap is again unprecedented when it comes to intelligence.

As with the previous question, the survey didn't ask people to compare blacks and whites directly, but rather to rate each race separately. In this case, 26 percent of white Republicans rated African Americans as less intelligent, compared to 18 percent of white Democrats. That eight-point gap is slightly bigger than in 2010 (seven points) and 2004 (six points).

It's a similar story on interracial marriage;26 percent of white Republicans say they'd be opposed to a family member or close relative marrying a black person, versus 12 percent of white Democrats. That 14-point gap is tied for the largest with 2010.

The pattern doesn't hold, though, for affirmative action. The survey asked whether people thought a white person wouldn't get a job or promotion that an equally or less-qualified black person would. While 16 percent of white Republicans that was very likely, 7 percent of white Democrats said the same a nine-point gap that is on-par with previous surveys.

Scott Clement contributed to this post.

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Republicans' views of blacks' intelligence, work ethic lag behind ... - Washington Post

The 12 Democrats who represent House districts won by Donald Trump were supposed to be easy marks for the deal-making new president.

Instead, theyre giving him the stiff-arm.

Story Continued Below

I do come from a district that did flip to Trump this time, but I dont think they should be reading that as a slam dunk, said Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.). Im not going to support crazy up here.

After last weeks collapse of the GOP effort to scrap Obamacare fueled partly by resistance from conservative House hard-liners Trump and his allies have hinted that outreach to Democrats may soon be on the way.

But Trumps polarizing agenda and early stumbles have stiffened the resolve of moderate Democrats once spooked by his success in their districts. Though most say theyre willing to work with Trump if hes sincere about seeking common ground, theyre also not rushing to his side. And his recent overtures toward bipartisanship, they say, are falling flat.

I mean, will they attract one or two Democrats on whatever piece of garbage they want to offer? Maybe, said Rep. Jim Himes, chairman of the centrist New Democrat Coalition.

But early talk from the White House about corralling a few Democratic votes has to stop, the Connecticut Democrat added. If they really want to get something done they better leave the picking off language behind and start talking about what we would need.

Democrats have pointed to investing in infrastructure and reducing prescription drug prices as two areas of potential cooperation with Trump.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that theres a whole host of issues where the parties can find common ground, including health care, infrastructure and tax reform. Wed love to have as much support as possible, he said.

But Trump is operating from a position of weakness. His first legislative effort to repeal Democrats top legislative achievement of the past decade lies in tatters. His approval rating is in the gutter, and an active FBI investigation into his associates contacts with Russian officials has left a dark cloud over his administration.

And despite talk of working with Democrats, Trumps actions suggest otherwise.

In another confrontational tweet Thursday morning, he vowed to go hard against his critics: "We must fight [the Freedom Caucus], & Dems, in 2018!"

Trump has spent the early months of his administration pursuing a conservative and controversial agenda, which has provoked intense backlash from the Democratic base and pressure to oppose the White House.

The president is also picking fights with Democratic leaders, who have happily returned fire. Democrats say theres been little serious outreach from the president to begin forging relationships across the aisle.

Aides to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California and her top deputy, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, say theres been no contact from the White House since the GOP health care bills collapse.

A senior administration official suggested this week that posture may be about to change. The official suggested the White House would start with outreach to Hoyer and try to leverage its limited relationship with the Congressional Black Caucus, which Trump hosted at the White House last week.

The White House also has started reaching out to rank-and-file Democrats, with limited success. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) turned down the chance to meet with White House staff, an opportunity facilitated by Maine GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin.

"My feeling is that the Trump White House has taken a scorched earth approach so far, Lynch said in a statement. "I felt like they were trying to divide our party, so I declined the invitation."

Himes has had similar conversations with Poliquin and said hes open to the White House face time but that nothing formal has been set up.

Rep. Scott Peters of California, a moderate Democrat, said: If Donald Trump wanted to come to me with policies that are sensible, Im not going to withhold my support because its Donald Trump. I just dont see it right yet.

Pelosi said Thursday she's "not concerned" about direct contact between the White House and rank-and-file Democrats.

Theres also little reason to think Hoyer will go rogue on his own Democratic leadership team.

Trump squeaked out his election victory with a surprising show of strength across the Midwest and among blue-collar voters that have often supported Democrats. But his voters also showed a penchant for splitting their tickets to support down-ballot Democrats.

Trump crushed Clinton by 30 points in Minnesotas 7th District, where Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson still eked out a win. Trump won by 4 points in the district of Iowa Democratic Rep. Dave Loebsack and by a point in the districts of New Hampshire Democrat Carol Shea-Porter and Illinois Democrat Cheri Bustos.

Bustos, though, said the failed drive to repeal Obamacare has energized opposition to Trump in her district.

I have a swing district. You wouldve thought that I had a 95 percent Democratic district if you went to my town hall this weekend, she said. We have Democrats going home to standing ovations.

Democrats also are leery of helping Trump bounce back from his challenging first months in office, especially with his long history of stoking partisan fury and his routine jabs at Democratic leaders, like calling Pelosi incompetent and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York a clown.

Some Republicans have encouraged more across-the-aisle cooperation.

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), head of the centrist Tuesday Group caucus, told reporters this week that he has had "many conversations" with Democrats about opportunities to work together on health care. Standing alongside him at a Capitol Hill news conference, Ohio Gov. John Kasich himself a former House veteran berated lawmakers for failing to engage in a bipartisan way.

"Somebodys got to start breaking the logjam in this country," the former GOP presidential contender said.

In some respects, forging a coalition with Democrats could be an easier lift for the White House than dealing with a fractious and deeply divided Republican House conference.

The conservative Freedom Caucus has bedeviled House leaders for years, effectively ousting Speaker John Boehner and now making serious trouble for Speaker Paul Ryan.

Even as House Democrats are motivated to frustrate Republicans agenda, theyre still loath to foreclose the possibility of negotiations with Trump.

Unlike the Freedom Caucus, where you give them half a loaf and they burn down the bakery, give us half a loaf and well be at the table, Himes said.

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Though Trump has done little direct outreach to Democrats, one notable exception has been his nod to the Congressional Black Caucus, which he recently hosted in the Oval Office. White House aides pointed to that meeting, which came after Trump awkwardly asked a black journalist to schedule the gathering, as a sign Trump is willing to reach outside the Republican tent.

One CBC member, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), also visited Trump separately to pitch legislation on competition in the pharmaceutical industry, part of a shared goal to reduce rising drug prices.

But Trump would be mistaken if he views the largely liberal group as a renegade caucus to help Republicans clinch wins on their legislative agenda, said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).

"We're not going to try to hold the [Democratic] caucus hostage for our own narrow interests, he said.

Tara Palmeri contributed to this report.

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Democrats in Trump territory in no mood to deal - Politico