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Portland, Oregon, sports radio station KXTG-FM fired host Dino Costa aftercomments he made in June advocating for drivers to run over Black Lives Matter protesters with their cars gained national attention, RadioInsight reported this week.

The radio station initially stood by Costa despite the controversial comments, but new backlash in light of the Charlottesville, Virginia, Unite the Right protests led the station to terminate the provocative radio personality. Eugene Weekly posted a transcript of the comments Monday.

You know these protests where they shut down the road, they lie in the road? If Im the cops, I wave the traffic on, Costa said during a June 7 broadcast. Listen, as soon as one or two of these sumbitches are run over youll see the entire, in unison, everybody be up off the street. When people are being killed by 18-wheel trucks coming by, pickups, cars. Run em over!

Those comments took on a new resonance after Heather Heyer, a Charlottesville counterprotester, diedaftera white nationalist protester allegedly drove his vehicle into a crowd Saturday.

As late as Monday, a statement from the station said Costa had been disciplined with aggressive actions at the time of the original comments, but he had not been fired. Costa wasnt fired until Wednesday, after the displeasure of listeners, as well as the University of Oregon and the MLS Portland Timbers franchise, grew.

KXTG has broadcast agreements with the Timbers and University of Oregon football. The agreementswere put in jeopardy once Costas June comments gained more widespread attention. Both organizations strongly condemned Costaand the sentiments he expressed.

Costa has had a history of controversial or offensive takes on radio, and thiswasnt the first time his opinions have cost him a job. He was fired from a St. Louis radio stationearlier this year for his comments and behavior, including saying women dont have a place in sports radio.

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'Run 'em over!': Radio host fired for Black Lives Matter comments - TheBlaze.com

Jerome Almon via Facebook

Let me preface this by saying that as black people, we always know there is going to be at least one. You know the type. They do the most to set themselves apart from the rest of us black folks because they want to be viewed as different and special. Even if it means selling other black people up the river, they will stand out in their other blackness by any means necessary.

Such is the case of 52-year-old Jerome Almon, a black man who wrote a racially charged email denouncing Black Lives Matter and advocating for the protection of some Confederate monuments. He told the Washington Post that he sent the email to help Donald Trump defend his response to the Charlottesville white supremacy riot and give him ammunition to condemn groups on the left, including Black Lives Matter.

I wanted to help him. This whole political bread and circuses needs to stop, Jerome Almon told the Post. Black Lives Matter is just as racist as the Nazis or the KKK or anyone else.

Were going to end up in a violent civil war, Almon added, saying that the president is our last chance or the violence you saw in Charlottesville is going to get worse.

Almon sent his email to Trump attorney John Dowd, who received it Tuesday night and shared it with government officials, conservative journalists and other administration allies Wednesday.

John Dowd, a veteran of Washington scandals, says his action does not mean he agrees with the

In the email, Almon claimed that Black Lives Matter has been infiltrated by terrorists. He also appeared to echo the presidents claims defending the central goal of the Charlottesville protest, which was led by a group that claims it rallied to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

At a Tuesday news conference, Trump claimed that the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists were not completely to blame for the violent turn of events at the protest and said that there was blame on both sides. Those comments have created some serious political backlash for the president, who not only has not backed down on them but also doubled down on them in further statements.

Almon told the Post in a phone interview that he has previously met Trump, and as a onetime Obama supporter, he has come to support the current president because hes far more right than he is wrong, and hes done far more on average than his opponents.

Almon said that he wanted to provide the president with facts with which to reinforce his argument about Charlottesville, and in the email he even compared George Washington to Lee.

Both owned slaves, Almon wrote. Both rebelled against the ruling government. Both mens battle tactics are still taught at West Point. Both saved America.

Im going to sum up my feelings about Clayton Bigsby Jerome Almon with two words:

Nigga, please.

Read more at the Washington Post.

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Real-Life Clayton Bigsby Writes Email Denouncing Black Lives Matter, Supporting Confederate Monuments Because ... - The Root

If he decides to run, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine will be the most enigmatic and unpredictable candidate for Florida governor in 2018.

Many political elites doubt the self-described "radical centrist" entrepreneur will jump into a Democratic primary that already includes Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham and Winter Park businessman Chris King.

But the fact is Levine, 55, is far more likely to run than not, and he could quickly emerge as the Democratic front-runner. He intends to make his announcement in October.

Unlike the other, better-known multimillionaire considering a run (trial lawyer John Morgan), Levine is traveling the state talking to Democratic groups and raising money, and he has a core group of veteran political advisers on the payroll. (SiriusXM is promoting Levine's tour through Florida for a weekly radio show.)

Still, it's easy to see how people can doubt his level of interest in the Democratic nomination.

He almost never fires off press releases or tweets criticizing President Donald Trump or Gov. Rick Scott.

At a time when many liberals are hungry for a champion fighter, Levine dismisses Bernie Sanders' message.

"Bernie Sanders lost the Florida primary to Hillary Clinton, okay? I love the idea of a revolution, but unfortunately in South Florida the term 'revolution' doesn't sound like such a good idea," he quipped to a group of Democrats in Miami recently.

Last month, he sat down for a radio interview with Fox News' Brian Kilmeade and sounded like he was sympathetic to President Trump's attacks on CNN.

"I want Walter Cronkite to come back. I think we need objective news," Levine said when asked about Trump tweeting out a clip of himself body-slamming someone with a CNN logo over their face.

In May, Levine threw the door wide open to shunning the Democratic label and running as an independent candidate for governor.

"I love the Democratic Party. But you know what's interesting? I actually like the Republican Party, and I like a lot of Republican ideas, and I like a lot of the people in the Republican Party as well," he declared in Tampa, again more or less poking hard-core liberal Democrats in the eye.

Whether he was just winging it or seriously considering the move is unclear, but that door has closed. State law requires a candidate for governor to change parties more than 365 days before qualifying for office, and the deadline passed in June.

What's especially striking about Levine's pattern of inviting liberal partisans to attack or dismiss him is that he may have the most progressive record of any Democrat running.

He bucked state law to try to mandate a higher minimum wage in Miami Beach; he has been among the country's most vocal champions of combating sea level rise; he is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights; and he oversaw police department reforms.

Levine, a close pal of former President Bill Clinton, was all over national TV last year as a surrogate for Hillary Clinton. Some Florida political observers speculate that his media consultant, Adam Goodman of St. Petersburg an adviser to Republican Pam Bondi and a frequent Trump defender is largely shaping Levine's emphasis on nonpartisanship and bipartisanship.

Nope. Levine insists that's who he is and he believes it's the winning campaign message.

"It's no longer a party message," said Levine, who plans to attend a Pinellas Democratic Party meeting Thursday. "I really believe it's a message of being pro-business and being pro-people."

You don't win an election just by attacking the other guy, he says, you win by drawing people to you and offering solutions.

The Kumbaya talk belies his short fuse, which has popped up in frequent skirmishes with the Miami Herald on covering his administration, a videotape of him berating a double-parked delivery driver in Miami Beach and Twitter barbs ripping Airbnb.

"But this millionaire Democrat also is making headlines with words like 'tirade' and 'flies off handle' because of his off-the-cuff remarks and juvenile posts on social media," the South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorialized in March. "With the gubernatorial field beginning to take shape, Democrats should be asking themselves whether they really want a nominee whose temperament draws comparisons to that of President Donald Trump."

Levine makes no apologies. He's not a career politician, but a businessman interested in results. He is finishing his second two-year term as part-time mayor, his first elective office, and in September will marry for the first time and welcome a baby boy.

The real model for leaders, Levine argues, can be found in the employee handbooks of innovating companies including Apple, Tesla, Amazon and Boeing. These are companies that value their employees and diversity and invest in them.

"It's a message of economic opportunity for everybody. It's not dividing, but unifying and bringing America together," Levine said.

Don't expect him to start criticizing the unpopular Republican president, as the other Democrats do.

"I may not respect the occupant of the office, but I respect the office," Levine said. "Right now he's the pilot, and I'm on the plane like everybody else. I don't wish the pilot failure. I want a smooth and safe landing."

A lot of campaign professionals would dismiss this feel-good talk as a nonstarter among rabidly partisan primary voters. They may be right. But the way the other Democratic candidates are struggling to raise money so far, nobody should underestimate the little-known mayor.

He has raised about $4 million for his political committee without hosting a single fundraising event. That includes nearly $2.6 million of his own money, and his campaign has signaled he may put in at least $10 million total.

The national leader he sees as the best model for Democrats?

"I'd have to say Michael Bloomberg, and I don't even know his party registration," Levine said of the billionaire former New York mayor, who is registered to neither major party.

Bloomberg looked at running for president in 2016 and concluded he couldn't win.

So far, Levine seems to think he can win Florida.

Contact Adam C. Smith at asmith@tampabay.com. Follow @adamsmithtimes.

Democrat Philip Levine won't attack Trump. Can he be Florida governor? 08/18/17 [Last modified: Friday, August 18, 2017 11:10am] Photo reprints | Article reprints

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Democrat Philip Levine won't attack Trump. Can he be Florida governor? - Tampabay.com (blog)

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- It's Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield - and that means Republicans like Gov Rauner and President Trump are getting an earful.

A handful of Democratic officials stopped by the fair today but there was no formal event, the party did not have its traditional rally.

Instead, officials, activists and candidates packed the ballroom of a Springfield hotel for the breakfast.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth and House Speaking Michael Madigan to swings at the GOP.

We Democrats will campaign on a record of opposition to the Rauner hostage taking, Madigan said.

The Democratic candidates for governor also made an appearance.

There's a realization that too many people sat on the sideline during the last election and that resulted in the election of Donald Trump, Chris Kennedy said.

I plan to meet everybody I can meet in Illinois and do my best to secure a vote, Tio Hardiman said.

The candidates focused on Charlottesville attacking President Trump.

J.B. Pritzker said, Donald Trump is a racist and a bigot and a xenophobe and a liar.

Governor Rauner was also a favorite target and nearly every candidate took a shot at him.

We're talking about race and class and how Bruce Rauner pits poor white people against poor black and brown people, Ameya Pawar said.

Today, State Senator Daniel Biss scored the endorsement of Congresswoman Robin Kelly. Biss is pushing a progressive agenda.

Do we follow the herd or do we follow our hearts? he said.

Activists gave the biggest applause to 83-year-old Secretary of State Jesse White, who announced he will seek a sixth term.

I am your man and I will be at my duty station every day, he said.

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Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair - WGN-TV

U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur's new effort to write health care legislation intended to help stabilize insurance marketplaces without repealing the Affordable Care Act has garnered the attention of the Democrats interested in replacing him in Congress.

And they aren't exactly applauding him.

Democrats Andy Kim and Katherine Hartman took turns blasting the 3rd District Republican on Thursday for once again partnering with Rep. Mark Meadows on health care reform.

The North Carolina congressman chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and he was MacArthur's partner in writing a key amendment to the Republicans' Affordable Care Act repeal-and-replace legislation that helped the measure garner enough votes to advance from the House.

This time around, the two are working on legislation intended to help stabilize individual insurance markets in some parts of the country that are in danger of collapsing due to rising premiums and the exodus of insurers willing to sell individual health plans.

Details about their proposal have not been released, but MacArthur has said it includes funding for cost-sharing reduction subsidies paid to insurers to keep out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-payments manageable for low- and moderate-income consumers.

The subsidies, which are separate from the ACA's tax credits awarded to consumers to help defer some of the expense of their premiums, have become the focus of the health care debate following the Senate's failure to pass an overhaul of "Obamacare."

Democrats and many Republicans have called for the subsidies to be funded and distributed, but President Donald Trump has called them a "bailout" for insurers and has threatened to withhold them.

MacArthur has said his plan would fund the subsidies and would also include provisions intended to bring down costs.

In his statement, Kim said MacArthur could not be trusted following his first foray into health care reform with Meadows.

"None of us will forget what MacArthur did by leading the charge to take away health care from millions of Americans. We can't trust anything he does after he authored one of the worst pieces of legislation that would jeopardize many lives," the Evesham resident said. "After he burned his bridges with the moderate Republicans' Tuesday Group, MacArthur is now working with the most extreme right-wing leaders who are strong supporters of Steve Bannon, refuse to condemn Trump's statements on Charlottesville, and just introduced a measure for a straight repeal of the ACA with no replacement."

Hartman, of Moorestown, said she was concerned that MacArthur would use funding for the cost-sharing reduction payments as cover to also try to weaken Affordable Care Act protections guaranteeing that insurers cover necessities such as hospitalization, prescription drugs, prenatal care, and mental illness and substance abuse treatment.

"The cost-sharing reduction payments need to be funded, with no change to essential benefits. The attempts by President Trump and congressional Republicans to hold these payments hostage is another example of putting politics over the needs of constituents," Hartman said. "This gamesmanship will negatively affect the people of our district, and I will not stand for it. We cannot play games with people's health."

Chris Russell, a consultant and spokesman for MacArthur's re-election campaign, said that MacArthur continues to show leadership on health care and that the Democrats' attacks were the equivalent of "shooting spitballs from the sidelines."

"Do Katherine Hartman and Andy Kim even know what they are talking about? Every Democrat in Congress wants cost-sharing reductions funded, which Congressman MacArthurs proposal does. Second, many Democrats have called for the most onerous Obamacare taxes to be repealed, which Congressman MacArthurs proposal also does," Russell said. "Attacking the congressman for advancing bipartisan ideas within the framework of the current law proves that Hartman and Kim dont really care about fixing health care. They are just looking for an excuse to push for a European-style, single-payer system that will bankrupt the country, destroy our growing economy, and increase taxes on every American."

The back-and-forth on the issue marks an early start to what's expected to be an active 2018 campaign for the 3rd District seat, which represents almost all of Burlington County and a large portion of neighboring Ocean County.

The district has been represented by a Democrat only once during the last century, but Democrats have become energized in the wake of MacArthur's role in writing the Republicans' health care overhaul legislation and the election ofTrump, who headlined a fundraiser for the congressman at his golf club in Bedminster, Somerset County.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has listed MacArthur's seat among its top targets in 2018 and was also critical of his renewed partnership with Meadows.

Once again, Rep. MacArthur is showing his true colors by aligning with the most extreme right-wing members of the Republican Party. The centrist Tuesday Group already kicked MacArthur out of its leadership for the MacArthur Amendment, which gutted protections for pre-existing conditions and led to the passage of the destructive Republican repeal bill. This recent scheme should finally put an end to the myth of MacArthur as moderate," said Evan Lukaske, a spokesman for the DCCC.

Russell said that MacArthur is willing to work with Republicans and Democrats to fix health care, and that voters deserve to know if Kim and Hartman are in favor of a single-payer system being pushed by far-left Democrats.

"The fact remains that the current health care system is a mess, and rising premiums are making health insurance unaffordable for tens of millions of middle-class Americans. Doing nothing and letting it collapse isn't an option. Neither is President Trump's plan to repeal Obamacare with no replacement," Russell said.

"That's why Congressman MacArthur is once again leading the fight to stabilize the markets, and ultimately pass a more patient-centered and consumer-friendly health care system that creates a strong safety net for the less fortunate, while allowing Americans to customize plans that best suit them and their families. Hes shown leadership and put forward a plan. What do Katherine Hartman and Andy Kim stand for?"

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Democrat challengers attack MacArthur's new health care plan - Burlington County Times