Archive for July, 2017

Oh, snap! TheBlaze TV host corners Black Lives Matter activist who called her racist – TheBlaze.com

TheBlaze TV host Dana Loesch cornered Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson on Thursday amid mounting criticism of a new National Rifle Association ad.

The ad, which, as Loesch pointed out,is not new, calls on NRAsupporters to fight the political lefts violence with a clinched fist of truth.

Loesch citedthe lefts use of violence specifically the violence at the University of California- Berkeley, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore to make her point that its time for conservatives to fight back.

The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom is to fight this violence of lies with a clinched fist of truth, Loesch said in the NRA ad that first published to YouTube on April. 7. A number of liberals responded to the ad Thursday.

One of them, Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson, even accused Loesch of being racist.

This NRA ad is an open call to violence to protect white supremacy. If I made a video like this, Id be in jail, McKesson tweeted.

Loesch took to Twitter Thursday morning to challenge McKesson to a one-on-one debate on her radio or TV show.

Come on air and tell me to my face that Im a racist for condemning violent riots you incite, Loesch fired back.

Loesch also reacted more generally andaddressed the criticism in a videoWednesday, which she sharedon her Facebook and Twitter accounts.

I dont even know why people are freaking out over this ad that I did, this commentary that I did for NRA, because its actually kind of I did it a while ago. Its not like its brand new. The NRA just created a new Facebook page and they put it up on the Facebook page, Loesch began.

And by the way, we were very specific in this particular ad: clinched fist of truth, my line, Loesch said, referring to the anti-Trump Resist movements poster that shows a clinched fist.

Thats not the rights imagery. Thats not conservatisms imagery. Thats not libertarianisms imagery, Loesch pointed out. Thats the progressive leftists imagery. So what am I to infer from that particular image. You have an image of a fist and you have resist underneath.

Loesch then clarified that when I said use a clinched fist of truthyes, its using a clinched fist of truth. Arm yourself with truth.

Nowhere in the NRA ad did Loesch suggest taking up arms, as some on the left, inferred.

Twitter users likened the ad to everything from an ISIS recruitment video to dog whistle politics.

As of the time this article was published, McKesson had not publicly taken up Loeschs offer to discuss the ad on air.

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Oh, snap! TheBlaze TV host corners Black Lives Matter activist who called her racist - TheBlaze.com

Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women | TheHill – The Hill

Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white and a majority of them are women, according to a report released by Senate MinorityLeader Charles SchumerCharles SchumerTrump claims GOP has a 'big surprise' on healthcare Senate Dems step up protests ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote Senate Dems plan floor protest ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote MORE (D-N.Y.) on Friday.

The study found that 32 percent of staffers in Democratic Senate offices are "non-Caucasian," and54 percent are women.

Thirteenpercent of Democratic staffers are African American largely in line with U.S. demographics while only 10 percent are Latino significantly less than the 17 percent that make up the country's population.

Eight percent are Asian or Pacific Islander, 4 percent are Native American and 3 percent are North African or Middle Eastern.

Senate Democrats have long faced criticism for a lack of diversity among those that work for them, and have faced increased pressure in recent months totake up minority-hiring efforts.

Former Senate Minority Leader Harry ReidHarry ReidSenate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Dems face identity crisis Heller under siege, even before healthcare MORE (D-Nev.) started the Senate Democratic Diversity Initiative in 2007 aimed at building Senate staffs that reflect the country's demographics. The effort has since been carried on by Schumer.

Senate Democrats have taken steps to increase diversity among staffers, passing the "Rooney Rule" in March, which requires Democrats to interview at least one minority candidate for openings on lawmakers' staffs.

The rule mirrors a National Football League hiring policy requiring teams to do the same for head coach positions and other senior roles.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has the most diverse staff, with 66 percent identifying as "non-Caucasian." Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Mazie HironoMazie HironoSenate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Senate Dems step up protests ahead of ObamaCare repeal vote Senate Dem: Gorsuch, Thomas and Alito like 'horsemen of the apocalypse' MORE (D-Hawaii) are tied for second at 61 percent.

Among the Democrats with least diverse staffs are Sen. Heidi HeitkampHeidi HeitkampSenate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Senate Democrats: ObamaCare repeal fight isn't over yet Dem senator: Don't bet against McConnell on ObamaCare repeal MORE (N.D.) at 10 percent, Sen. Joe ManchinJoe ManchinDemocrats goinforthekillon ObamaCare repeal Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women The Hill's 12:30 Report MORE (W.V.) at 9 percent and Sen. Jon TesterJon TesterDemocrats goinforthekillon ObamaCare repeal Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women Trump A conservative conservationist MORE (Mont.) at 7 percent.

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Senate Democrat staffers are predominantly white, women | TheHill - The Hill

Texas Democrat pushes bill to block taxpayer money from Trump’s voter fraud commission – Washington Examiner

A Democratic congressman has introduced a bill to deny taxpayer funding to President Trump's voter fraud commission.

The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created by Trump in May, received little attention until this week, when at least 20 states rejected a request to provide the commission with all publicly available voter roll data.

"As the president continues to press his blatantly false claim that voter fraud cost him the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election, he endangers the sanctity of our nation's democracy," Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said in a statement Friday. He is the author of the legislation and co-chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus. "The commission's mission to study non-existent voter fraud cases has nothing to do with ballot security and everything to do with voter suppression and discrimination," Veasey added.

According to Congress.gov, Veasey actually introduced the bill in the House June 22.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, vice chairman of the commission, sent a letter to all 50 secretaries of state Wednesday requesting voters' full names, their addresses, their birth dates, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, their voting histories and their political parties, if they had been recorded.

State officials mostly Democrats, but also some Republicans have objected to the request, citing concerns over privacy, politics ... and Kobach.

Kobach, a conservative candidate for Kansas governor in 2018, is a leading proponent of strict voter-identification laws. He has helped design some of the toughest voting laws in the country, which Democrats and civil rights groups allege are meant to restrict voting access by minority groups.

Trump created the commission by executive order after making an unsubstantiated claim that millions of illegal immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and prevented him from winning the popular vote.

The commission, led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kobach, is charged with investigating voter fraud and issuing recommendations to prevent it.

It will have its first meeting July 19 in Washington, D.C.

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Texas Democrat pushes bill to block taxpayer money from Trump's voter fraud commission - Washington Examiner

Democrat Bruce Wheeler jumps into Congressional District 2 race – Arizona Daily Star

Bruce Wheeler was ready to retire from Arizona politics after years in the Legislature and on the Tucson City Council.

But it was one person who changed the 68-year-olds mind last year Donald J. Trump.

That is a game changer, he said That puts a lot of things at risk that a lot of us believe in and cherish about this country.

In the months after Trumps election, Wheeler decided he would get back into politics and challenge Republican Rep. Martha McSally in Congressional District 2 in next years midterm elections. He joins a crowded race in the Democratic Party primary.

Wheeler had flirted with the idea of running in CD2 once before in the last election cycle, but a doctor sidelined him for months after a surgery.

In 2017, Wheeler said he is ready to take on McSally.

Calling McSally a manufactured moderate, the Tucson Democrat said she didnt have to defend her voting record in the last cycle.

She didnt have to own any votes it was about repeal, repeal, Obama, Democrats and pointing fingers, Wheeler said.

And it is health care that Wheeler believes he has a record to run on, voting with statehouse Democrats and some Republicans in 2013 to expand Medicaid in Arizona.

We added 350,000 people, he said about increasing the number of residents covered.

McSally, he argued, wants to take away their insurance since she backed the Republican health-care plan being debated in Congress.

These are votes she is now going to have to own, he said.

Wheeler said he wants to go one step further supporting a single-payer health-care system for all Americans.

We are already covering the most expensive segment of the population, 65 and older, he said, noting it will be a controversial stance in a crowded field of Democrats.

It wont happen overnight, he concedes, but he is optimistic Democrats will take control of the House in 2018 and the White House in 2020.

But first he will need to secure the Democratic nomination in CD2 next year. Democrats who have either announced they are running or are testing the waters are former U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, emergency-room Dr. Matt Heinz, small-business owner Billy Kovacs, pilot Jeff Latas, small-business owner Charlie Verdin and a retired assistant secretary of the Army, Mary Matiella.

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Democrat Bruce Wheeler jumps into Congressional District 2 race - Arizona Daily Star

Kirsten Gillibrand becomes latest Democrat to come out in favor of single-payer health care – Salon

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has come out in favor of a single-payer health care system.

When her senior adviser Glen Caplin was asked by CNN about whether the junior senator from New York supports single payer, he responded Yes.follow-ups a follow up to Gillibrands response to a health care question at a Facebook Live hosted by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Health care should be a right, it should never be a privilege. We should have Medicare for all in this country, Gillibrand replied.

This is a move to the left for Gillibrand, who despite advocating for Medicare for all since her first congressional campaign has not outright advocated a single-payer system. She is following in the suit of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who told The Wall Street Journallast week that President Obama tried to move us forward with health-care coverage by using a conservative model that came from one of the conservative think tanks that had been advanced by a Republican governor in Massachusetts. Now its time for the next step. And the next step is single payer.

Gillibrands new position does place her in good stead among many of her fellow Americans.

A Pew Research Center poll releasedlast weekfound that 33 percent of Americans favor a single-payer health care program, including 52 percent of Democrats/Leaning Democrats and 64 percent of liberals. The total number who favor single payer has risen by 5 percent from its total in January and a whopping 12 percent from where it was in 2014.

Overall 60 percent of the people polled said that the government is responsible for guaranteeing that all Americans have health care coverage, compared to 39 percent who felt that it did not. That number reached 85 percent for Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, while 68 percent of Republicans said the government should not have that responsibility.

The new Democratic push for a single-payer system comes as Senate Republicans plan, which the Congressional Budget Office reported would slash Medicaid funding by 26 percent by 2026, appears at an impasse.

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Kirsten Gillibrand becomes latest Democrat to come out in favor of single-payer health care - Salon