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Two Maine Democratic lawmakers have unenrolled from the party.

Rep. Denise Harlow, of Portland, and Rep. Ralph Chapman, of Brooksville two veteran lawmakers and progressive members of the Democratic caucus both dropped their party affiliations earlier this week, according to the office of House Speaker Sara Gideon. Both lawmakers are heavily involved in environmental issues and recently split with the majority of their party by opposing a bipartisan bill to overhaul Maines metallic mining regulations.

In an interview, Harlow raised concerns about the voice of individuals within the party as well as the influence of lobbyists within the State House.

Denise Harlow

Obviously, this is not a decision that I have taken lightly, said Harlow, who added that her familys Democratic roots go back to her great-grandfather. I have been a member of the Democratic Party for my entire adult life and have proudly represented part of Portland in the Legislature for 6 1/2 years . . . I continue to be aligned with the core Democratic values.

However, Harlow said individual thinkers are often marginalized in the party and she remains extremely concerned about the influence lobbyists have in Augusta. Harlow is serving her fourth term and is prohibited under Maines term limits from running again in the House. While Harlow could seek a Senate seat, she said Friday she had no plans to run again.

Ralph Chapman

Chapman, who is also serving his fourth term, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday.

Their decisions to unenroll reduces the narrow numbers edge that Democrats hold over Republicans in the House but is unlikely to significantly alter the political balance because both lawmakers are considered liberal or progressive. Democrats now hold 75 seats in the House while Republicans hold 71 and independents occupy five seats, including Chapman and Harlow.

Gideon said she respected the pairs decision.

Im disappointed that Rep. Harlow and Rep. Chapman have unenrolled from the Democratic Party, but I respect their decision and value their friendship, Gideon, D-Freeport, said in a statement. I have always admired their progressive values and the passion they bring to their work. Democrats will continue to staff them and our door is always open to them. I look forward to continuing to work with them on issues that matter to all of us.

Harlow declined to go into specifics about her decision. However, she and Chapman were outspoken opponents of a bill to re-write Maines environmental regulations for metallic mining. While the compromise bill that passed both chambers of the Legislature, Harlow and Chapman argued that the bill could still lead to groundwater contamination or other pollution problems. Both lawmakers said they believed large-scale metallic mining posed too large a risk to the clean water, air and land that draws so many tourists to Maine.

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Two Maine Democratic lawmakers drop from the party - Press Herald

New York Times

New York Democrats See Special Election Win as Good Sign for '18 New York Times ALBANY There were two special legislative elections in New York on Tuesday, both won by Democrats. The outcome of one was a foregone conclusion, the other an utter surprise especially given the convincing margin of victory by the Democrat, ... Do a Pair of State House Wins Portend a Democratic Wave?The Atlantic Democrats flip 2 state legislature seats in Trump districtsABC News Democrats just won two important state-level special electionsWashington Examiner HuffPost -Common Dreams -Shareblue Media all 30 news articles »

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New York Democrats See Special Election Win as Good Sign for '18 - New York Times

By Stephen Nash By Stephen Nash May 26 at 4:21 PM

Stephen Nash is the author of Virginia Climate Fever How Climate Change Will Transform Our Cities, Shorelines and Forests.

What if they didnt take the cash?

Some Democrats in Washington and Richmond mill and mull, dazed and Trump-flummoxed. Theyre compelled to look for new roles to play but cant unstick from the old ones cant find clarity or hope to offer a mistrustful electorate.

Campaign finance reform at the state legislature would be a great place to start, but its hard for some Democrats to think outside the treasure box. Three-quarters of American voters nearly equal numbers in both parties are convinced that Congress is for sale. Given its record, the Virginia legislature cant make a credible claim to higher public confidence. Maybe Roanoke, of all places, offers inspiration.

Why are the real estate agents, the health industry, the beer wholesalers and bankers shoving all that cash into the Virginia legislature? Law professor William Black, a former bank regulator, summarizes the ordinary citizens street-level, tragic view when he writes that a campaign contribution always generates the best return on investment.

When I asked Republican gubernatorial candidate Frank Wagner, a state senator from Virginia Beach, about big money in state politics last year, he remarked that he can certainly understand the sentiment of some of the public that Oh, he received money from them, therefore he is beholden. ... I think its a conclusion that many people would draw.

A mistaken conclusion, he assured me. But funny thing the state-regulated power utility Dominion Energy gave more than $7.4 million to Virginia legislators over the past decade, including $770,000 in 2016-2017 alone , according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. Coincidentally, Dominion has racked up an astonishing string of legislative triumphs over those years, amping up its profit margins along the way.

You could ask your state senator or delegate: Why is it ethical to take money from a state-regulated entity or any corporation and then vote on measures that affect those corporations profits? Dont accept the easy answer: I need the money to get elected. Vermont, Connecticut and conservative Arizona have figured that out, with voluntary donation limits and public financing for candidates. Is your senator or delegate pushing noisily for that? Why not?

Democrats could change and grab onto this populist ethical issue, but many of them would burn their hands. Dominion the top corporate giver on a long list of big donors gives money to dozens in both parties. State Sen. Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) is the biggest individual prizewinner, thanks to his long legislative service, perhaps, with gifts of $298,000 from Dominion over the years.

Roanoke Del. Sam Rasoul, a 35-year-old management consultant, exited a leadership role in that chambers Democratic caucus: My party needs to evolve, he told me. After the election, which really signaled an all-time low for Democrats in modern history, it became evident that we were stuck in our rationalizations as to why we are losing. I dont want to be part of an establishment leadership apparatus that doesnt want to radically change the way they do business.

Soon after, he announced that hell decline campaign donations above $5,000 from anyone and will take no more campaign cash from special-interest PACs and corporations.

Does money really buy influence in Richmond? Its so obvious that this is not in the interest of Virginians, yet somehow this legislation passes with overwhelming support, Rasoul told me. Its sad to watch to watch that happen, because its clear that the legislature, as far as Dominion is concerned, is bought and paid for.

A higher multiple of $25 campaign donors can outweigh the few behemoths, and integrity inspires voter engagement. Rasoul thinks that in the social-media era, voters pay far less attention to all that high-dollar junk mail, the blaring television commercials and fake telephone push polls. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and President Trump proved that.

Rasoul doesnt seem to be strutting over his decision, though. It just feels better, he told me. Its not perfect until we have public financing of campaigns, or some other mechanism to limit dollars so people are playing on a level field. What I did is not the whole solution, but it was the biggest step I think I could take right now to send a clear message to the people of Virginia, or across this country, that we are not beholden to special interests that we are operating in the interests of the people.

Candidates could gain support by signaling that. It would be great to see some more of them try.

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The populist ethical issue hurting Virginia Democrats - Washington Post

PHOENIX A new statewide coalition that advocatesfor the importance of immigrants, immigration and immigration reform for Arizona launched on Thursday.

Andrew Moriarty with Fwd.us, anational organization created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, said the coalition represents a broad and diverse group of voices.

Whether its agriculture, traditional business, high-tech business, students and teacherseveryone understands that the immigration system is broken, he said.

The national coalition is on the ground in 11 states and is made up of local groups like the Arizona Farm Bureau, Arizona Technology Council and Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Moriarty said groups like these are highlighting the importance of immigrants, immigration, and immigration reform because those issues affect them directly.

Immigration has long been our nations greatest competitive advantage, he said. Thats true if were talking about high-skilled that has allowed us to build some of the most incredible companies that the world has ever seen.

Half of the billion-dollar value companies in Silicon Valley were founded by immigrants. But its also true, Moriarty continued, if were talking about the 80 percent of agricultural workers here in Arizona who are immigrants.

And thats true of the 750,000 Dreamers young undocumented people who came here at a young age, he said. Who have no way, as of right now, to come forward, get right with the law and pursue their dreams in this country.

Voters, and business, community and political leaders all agree itll take three things to fix this, he said.

Making sure that we have secure boarders, making sure that our immigration system makes sense for the 21stCentury and making that those who are living here without documentation, have a pathway to legalization, he said.

The coalition plans to call on Arizona legislators to make immigration reform a priority for Congress.

This is a really important time to being doing this work, he said. We are seeing record high support from American voters on both sides of the isle for common sense immigration reform.

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Arizona launches statewide coalition to address immigration reform - KTAR.com

Hollywood celebrities seem to have become convinced that they are capable of providing better commentary on world events than people who actually have relevant expertise. This would be amusing if political leaders took advice from pop idols with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, politicians love the easy press that comes when superstars speak out on a particular political agenda. Meanwhile those of us who care about the safety and security of the nation look on in horror at pseudo-spectacles, like comedian Stephen Colberts testimony to congress on the need for immigration reform.

The latest Hollywood lunacy-cum-commentary comes from pop music icon Katy Perry. On the continuum of hypersexualized nonsense that passes for entertainment these days, Ms. Perry falls somewhere between Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. She also holds the dubious distinction of being the worlds most followed person on Twitter. How that qualifies her as an expert on geopolitics isnt clear.

Nevertheless, in a recent appearance on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, Ms. Perry held forth on the Manchester terrorist bombing. Her prescription for eradicating jihadist extremism: No barriers, no borders, we all just need to co-exist. Of course, that is utterly absurd. The Manchester bombing resulted from Britains embrace of lax immigration controls and poor vetting. Open borders, and a lack of barriers, caused this problem. Therefore, it should be self-evident that they cannot be the solution. In effect, Ms. Perry is arguing that the best cure for a case of poisoning is to administer even more of the toxin.

The Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, was a natural born citizen of the U.K. However, prior to being admitted to the U.K. as a refugee, his Libyan father Hashim Abedi had been a member of a jihadist group with links to ISIS and Al Qaeda. That information was rapidly obtained by investigative authorities in the days following the attack. If it could be uncovered so quickly in the wake of tragedy, there is absolutely no reason why it couldnt have been uncovered as part of a thorough vetting process prior to admitting the Abedi family to Great Britain. Contrary to Ms. Perrys advice, appropriate barriers, designed to keep terrorists out of the refugee process, might have saved the lives of 22 innocent Britons.

Of course, Ms. Perrys less than insightful commentary is just one more example of Hollywood hypocrisy. She comments disdainfully on the negative effects of borders and barriers that protect the cultural, economic, and national security interests of average Britons and average Americans. However, she does seem committed to maintaining one border, the one that protects her from the real world. Ms. Perry lives in a $19 million mansion, in a gated community, located in a secluded section of the Hollywood hills. Co-existence is easy when you live in a fantasy land.

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Katy Perry's World Has Borders and Barriers but Yours S... - ImmigrationReform.com (blog)