Mediaboss Marketing

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has vowed to lead a filibuster to try to block the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

With 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats in the Senate, the GOP needs eight Democrats to join them to break a filibuster, which takes 60 votes.

So far, however, only two Democrats have come out saying they would support Gorsuch - Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota.

Here's where senators stand on Gorsuch, not including those who have taken no position, according to FoxNews.com.

Senators opposed to Gorsuch; supporting a filibuster:

1. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

2. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

3. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

4. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del.

5. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

6. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

7. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.

8. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

9. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

10. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.

11. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii

12. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

13. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

14. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

15. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

16. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

17. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

18. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich.

19. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.

20. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt.

21. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

22. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

23. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M.

24. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

25. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

26. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

27. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.

28. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

29. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.

30. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

31. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.

32. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

33. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.

34. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii

Senators opposed to Gorsuch; position on filibuster unclear:

1. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio

2. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md.

3. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on April 3. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said they plan to vote to confirm Gorsuch on the Senate floor on April 7.

Watch the "Your World" report above.

Chris Matthews Compares Ivanka, Jared Kushner to Saddam Hussein's Sons

Eboni Williams: Time for Dems to Find 'New Blood' and New Narrative

The Internet Will Not Stop Asking Cracker Barrel Why #BradsWife Was Fired

Michael Moore Mocked for Warning of Human Extinction, 'Thanks to Trump'

Continued here:
Only 2 Democrat Senators Say They'll Support Gorsuch - Fox News Insider

Georgia Democratic congressional candidate Jon Ossoff speaks to volunteers on March 11, 2017. Image via AP.

Back in December, a runoff campaign for the Louisiana Senate caught the attention of desperate progressives, who hurled money at Democratic candidate Foster Campbell despite the long odds against him in a deep-red state. In Georgias sixth congressional district, a wealthy suburban district that has been held by a Republican since the 70s, both parties are accepting the possibility of an unexpected outcomethat the special election race to fill Tom Prices seat could actually flip to a Democrat.

Circumstances here are, of course, pretty different than they were in Louisiana; one seat wouldnt do much to alter Republican dominance over the House, and winning a single congressional district during a special election is a different ball game than capturing an entire state. 30-year-old first-time candidate Jon Ossoff also has the massive advantage of running as a youthful, clean-cut Democrat while a sitting Republican president with tanking approval ratings and questionable mental capacity gets investigated by the FBI. Trump only carried this district by a 1.5 point marginplus, its tough to get people motivated to vote when their party already controls all levers of the government, particularly when the seat in question wouldnt change that fact.

The GOP, Politico reports, is acknowledging Ossoffs chances:

That acknowledgement is a reflection of the unique forces driving the April 18 special election. Ossoff is one of 18 candidates thrown together in a primary in which all the candidates regardless of party will appear on the same ballot. A candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote will win the race outright. If no candidate reaches 50 percent, there will be a runoff on June 20 between the top two vote-getters.

The threat for Republicans is that the crowded field of nearly a dozen Republican candidates will dilute the GOP vote, enabling Ossoff to hit 50 percent and win the seat and thus avoid a runoff in which he would be hard-pressed to defeat a GOP candidate in a one-on-one matchup.

This race could be a perfect storm of higher than average Democratic turnout and below average Republican turnout. The early vote totals are chilling, Republican consultant Todd Rehm told Politico. Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker and former congressional staffer, has raised an obscene $4 million and is getting considerable attention from the national party, according to Politico; the DCCC sent staffers down to help out last month.

In turn, the Republican party is pouring money into the race, with the Congressional Leadership Fund super pac making an initial investment of $2.2 million to keep the district red with television ads and a field program to counter Ossoffs prodigious canvassing effort.

One attack ad painted Ossoff as too inexperiencedan interesting tack, considering whos in the White House right nowwhile a CLF ad that dropped today tried on a different strategy, showing menacing footage of black bloc protestors destroying property on inauguration day. Liberal extremists will stop at nothing to push their radical agenda, an outraged male voice intones. Now, theyre turning their attention to Georgia.

Jon Ossoff is one of them, the ad claims.

Im absolutely the underdog. But this is a winnable race, Ossoff told Atlantas WXIA. If you have any doubts about it being a winnable race just look at the attack ads on television. Thats an indication of how competitive the race is.

Meanwhile, Breitbart looks to be blaming the Georgia Republican establishment for any potential future loss; the site interviewed candidate and Tea Party activist Amy Kremer, who claimed that the party is purposely excluding Trump-supporting candidates from the debate stage. Since voters in this district are not too keen on Trump, that argument doesnt make a ton of sense! Staffers on Kramers campaign have quit after she was unable to pay them, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported; one ex-staffer who had been staying at her home had to call the cops to get his valuables after she changed the locks on him.

These next few weeks are sure bound to get interesting.

Go here to read the rest:
A Democrat Could Feasibly Snag Tom Price's Georgia House Seat - Jezebel

WASHINGTON The top Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, said intelligence reports he viewed at the White House on Friday were the same documents seen by panel Chairman Devin Nunes last week.

Nunes, a Republican, sparked a controversy last week when he said he had seen documents at the White House that indicated President Donald Trump and associates may have been caught in incidental intelligence collection before the inauguration.

Nunes shared what he had learned with Trump and held a news conference but did not give the information to the rest of the committee, angering Democrats and some Republicans.

(Reporting by Eric Beech)

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has neither a clear White House tax plan nor adequate staff yet to see through a planned tax reform, according to interviews with people in the administration, in Congress and among U.S. tax experts.

BEIJING/WASHINGTON Beijing sought to play down tensions with the United States and put on a positive face on Friday as the U.S. administration slammed China on a range of business issues ahead of President Xi Jinping's first meeting with President Donald Trump.

Originally posted here:
Top Democrat on House panel says he has seen controversial intel reports - Reuters

President Donald Trump.

Following his failed attempt to pass a new health care law,President TrumpindicatedWednesdaythathe wanted to start working more with Democrats. Of course, this comes after he failed to get Republicans on board with his Obamacare replacement-- and after he blamed Democrats for stalling his agenda.

Still, among those Democrats the White House called up was US RepresentativeStephen Lynch, of Massachusetts. Lynch is one of his party's few moderates left in the US House, and evenhe declined the White House's invitation.

Advertisement

There are at least three logical reasons why Democrats, except in some limited cases, will not be working with Trump anytime soon:

1. Trumps approving rating is really bad

This week Trumps approval rating dropped to35 percent in the Gallup poll,the lowest for any modern president this early in an administration. Anunpopular president hasless political clout on Capitol Hill. In other words, Trump cannot persuade Democrats that working with him will make them more popular back at home.

Get Political Happy Hour in your inbox:

Your afternoon shot of politics, sent straight from the desk of Joshua Miller.

One exception is the group of10 Democrats in theUS Senatewho are up for reelection next year in states that voted for Trump. This group might be looking for ways to at least appear open to working with Trump. But even then, if his popularity continues to decline, it still might be better to just stay away from the White House.

2. The Democratic base wont let them

Few Democrats have more credibility with the party's base than US SenatorElizabeth Warren. But remember the backlash she encountered when she initially said she was open to voting forBen Carsonas Trumps Secretary of Housing and Urban Development?Warren quickly changed her mind.

The Democratic base is firmly against Trump. In fact, the latest polling shows that just12 percent ofDemocrats approve of Trump.Not only is there little incentive for Democrats to work with Trump, there's considerable risk in their own party if they do so.

3. Trump has not been stressing issues where Democrats are likely to work with him.

Advertisement

Trump has lamentedthat no Democrat indicated they would support his health care bill, but he shouldnt be all that shocked. Democrats are not inclined to vote to repeal Obamacare, and they arent inclined to vote for a Supreme Court nominee that Trump has billed as very conservative.Even thoughPresident Obama talked about tax reform,there's little evidence to suggestTrump is willing to meet Democrats halfway on this issue.

If Trump really wants buy-in from Democrats, he could simply change the issue set -- and he might be ready to do so. In recent days Trump signaledhe wants to do a big infrastructure billsooner than originally planned. Trump'sadviser and son-in-law,Jared Kushner,met with senatorsThursdayto discuss bipartisan criminal justice reform.

Read this article:
3 reasons why Democrats aren't working with Trump - The Boston Globe

With Democrats defending 25 seats in 2018, a competitive race against Sen. Ted Cruz would be a major boon to the party. | AP Photo

Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke is expected to announce Friday he will challenge Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for Senate next year, people familiar with the decision confirmed.

O'Rourke, if he declares, would be the first Democrat to announce his intention to challenge Cruz. Rep. Joaquin Castro is also considering a Senate run. With Democrats defending 25 seats in 2018, including 10 in states won by President Donald Trump, a competitive race against Cruz would be a major boon to the party. Only two other GOP-held seats, Arizona and Nevada, are currently expected to be competitive. Democrats would need to pick up three seats to win the majority.

Story Continued Below

The announcement is expected to come at a rally in El Paso, according to the Houston Chronicle, which first reported the news. A spokesman for ORourke did not immediately return a comment.

O'Rourke wouldn't confirm he was running Wednesday but also didn't refute the Houston Chronicle story, saying only he hasn't talked to the newspaper.

"I don't want to say anything publicly about a decision to run until I can do it in front of the people I represent," O'Rourke said.

O'Rourke did say he has talked to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer recently but wouldn't divulge details. The Texas Democrat said he has not spoken with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, chairman of Senate Democrats' campaign arm, since last year.

But O'Rourke didn't pass up a chance to slam Cruz, saying he's sure the controversial Republican is beatable even in deep-red Texas.

"He's been running for president for four years while he should've been serving the people of Texas," O'Rourke said.

Castro told POLITICO he hasn't ruled out also running for the Texas Senate seat, saying he still plans to announce his decision at the end of April.

In an interview this month, O'Rourke insisted a Democrat can win in the conservative bastion.

"People have just come to take it as an article of faith that a Democrat can't win," O'Rourke said. "I don't think there's anything real magical about this."

A spokeswoman for Cruz declined to comment.

The immediate challenge for O'Rourke will be fundraising: Cruz ended 2016 with $4.2 million in his Senate campaign account, far more than the $399,000 O'Rourke had in his coffers as of last Dec. 31.

O'Rourke first won his El Paso-based and majority Latino House seat in 2012, after upsetting Rep. Silvestre Reyes in a Democratic primary. Hillary Clinton won 68 percent of the vote in O'Rourke's district last year.

Read this article:
Democrat O'Rourke to take on Cruz for Senate in 2018 - Politico