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The Senate debates the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. (Reuters)

Democrats are speaking on the Senate floor for 24 hours in a last-ditch effort to derail the confirmation of Betsy DeVos, President Trumps nominee for education secretary.

Now is the time to put country before party, said Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.),urging GOP senators to join Democrats in opposing DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and major Republican donor who has spent decades advocating the use of public funds to help parents pay tuition at private and religious schools.

Her views are extreme, Schumer said. She seems to constantly demean the main purpose of her job, public education.

[The popular uprising that threatens the Betsy DeVos nomination]

DeVoss confirmation vote is scheduled for noon Tuesday. All 48 members of the Senate Democratic caucus are expected to oppose her, along with two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Democrats need just one more Republican to flip to defeat the nomination, and they are hoping their 24-hour speech-a-thon will ratchet up the pressure.

Ahead of the final confirmation vote for President Trump's pick for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said, "We have a responsibility to reject the nomination." (Reuters)

Republican leaders have defended DeVos as a conservative who will scale back the federal role in public education, which expanded under the Obama administration. They have praised her as an outsider who will shake up the status quo to improve opportunities for disadvantaged children.

This nomination is dead even right now on the razors edge, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat of the Senate Education Committee, said on the floor. Murray, who has a record of bipartisan compromise in the Senate, has been sharply critical of DeVos, arguing that shelacks the experience needed to lead the Education Department and promotes policies that threaten public schools.

For the vast majority of people across the country, public education isnt just another issue. Its different, Murray said. We believe that a commitment to strong public schools is part of Americas core. The idea that every student, in every community, should have the opportunities that strong public schools offer. This is a notion that is embedded in our values. Its who we are. Its in our blood.

[Eli Broad, billionaire backer of charter schools, urges senators to oppose DeVos]

Activists have targeted those Republicans who they believe have reservations about DeVos, particularly those from rural states, where alternatives to public schools such as those promoted by DeVos are few and far between. But other than Murkowski and Collins, no Republican has indicated that their support is shaky.

DeVos has come under fire for stumbling over basic education policy questions during her January confirmation hearing, at one point saying she was confused about a landmark 1975 law the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA that protects students with disabilities and their access to a free, appropriate public education.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), the majority whip, praised Trump Monday for choosing a nominee who is not another education bureaucrat that knows all the acronyms and knows the arcana known to people that have been brought up within that establishment.

Instead he chose an outsider, someone much like himself, Cornyn said of Trump. Someone more interested in results rather than paying homage to and feeding the education establishment here in Washington, D.C.

If no other Republican defects, the Senate would likely deadlock at 50-50, requiring a tiebreaking vote by Vice President Pence. That would mark the first time a vice presidents tiebreaking vote would be needed to confirm a Cabinet nominee, according to the Senate Historical Office.

Were very confident that Betsy DeVos is going to be the next secretary of education, and itll be my high honor to cast the deciding vote on the floor of the Senate next week, Pence said on Fox News Sunday.

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Democrats are speaking for 24 hours in last push against Betsy DeVos - Washington Post

Do I sense a tad bit of hypocrisy in the acrid and smoky air above the cities as the violence accelerates and the liberal left Democrats go even farther out of their mind for their Marxist narrative?

When the Tea Party was rallying peaceably in response to the election of Barack Obama in 2008, and continued their movement throughout the Democrat Presidents two terms of office, they were labeled by the leftist political establishment and the liberal media as an anti-government hate group, and domestic terrorists or a domestic terrorist group. Even the Department of Homeland Security, under Obamas watch, classified the Tea Party as being a part of a right-wing sovereign citizen extremist threat in the United States, considering the Tea Party as being capable of potential right-wing violence that, for the most part never materialized. The Tea Party was categorized as being a threat equal to, and occasionally greater than, the threat from Islamic extremist groups. Conservatives and Tea Party folk have been called Extremists willing to take up arms against anyone they disagree with, or anyone they feel is a threat to their ignorance-fueled fundamentalist political philosophies - that latter part a reference to the belief that we, as a country, should be adhering to the political principles articulated by the original intent of the United States Constitution.

Since Donald J. Trump emerged on the political scene as a presidential candidate, and then was elected as the 45th President of the United States, the liberal left Democrats have launched into crazy mode. Their violent riots shut down his speech in Chicago during the campaign, and Democrat operatives admitted it was a part of the Democrat Partys design.

The coordinated terrorist attacks against a non-liberal government that the liberal left refuses to recognize (not my president is a common chant) without a violent backlash has doubled-down since the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. The violent inauguration protests led to damage to parts of Washington D.C., where 217 protesters were arrested, and somewhere between 400 and 500 mindless pawns and dupes participated in damaging property. The protesters were armed with crowbars and threw objects at people and businesses, destroying storefronts and damaging vehicles. Protests also were launched in other cities; all of them violent, and all of them destructive.

Reports have emerged that funding for the protests against Donald Trump has come from the well-known globalist leftist, George Soros (Breitbart, NewsMax, New York Times), and believe it or not, assistance from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hollywood, and the rest of the entertainment industry, has joined the insanity. Madonna said shes thought about blowing up the White House. Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman has called for the military to conduct a military coup to overthrow the Trump White House. A new Hollywood blacklist exists, but instead of fighting against communism, the communists have turned the tables, and now you are blacklisted if you dare to refuse to oppose Trump. At the Screen Actors Guild awards (a ceremony of narcissism I refuse to watch. . . its basically actors and actresses patting themselves on the back), left-wing identity politics was in full swing. David Harbour, when the award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series for Stranger Things was announced, screamed threats against people who disagreed with him politically, and that he and the group of Hollywood elite around him would punch Trump supporters in the face. The audience cheered as he made his threats. William H. Macy also took a stab at Trump at the SAG Awards, comparing the President to Macys demented character on the show Shameless. Comedy director Judd Apatow threatened Americans who support Donald Trump that the riots at the University of California-Berkeley were just the beginning. Before Trump was even elected, Hollywood Trump supporter Scott Baio was receiving death threats.

On CNN, the violent protesters in the streets were saying that people are going to have to die. A Black Lives Matter Anti-Trump Protester said for the camera, We Need To Start Killing People. In both cases, these things were said as fires blazed, and destruction was happening around them in violent riots.

Should all of this be labeled as terrorist threats and acts of terrorism?

The liberal left Democrats were willing to call the Tea Party terrorists for peaceably assembling, so how could anything said or done by the Democrats since Trump emerged on the scene be seen as anything other than terrorists threats, and acts of terrorism?

If opponents of Obama had said they wanted to blow up the White House, called for a military coup to remove Obama from office, or had damaged property with crowbars and other objects in the name of opposing the Obama government, they would have been plastered all over the television portrayed as terrorists, and they would have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law likely for treasonous behavior. The Koch Brothers would have been dragged through town and tarred and feathered if they were funding violent anti-government riots like Soros, and other leftist billionaires, are doing right now. And, entertainment stars would have been blacklisted and arrested for saying the terrorist threats being verbalized by the liberal left nutcakes screaming about Trump. Threats of killing people would have been taken seriously, and the liberal left would have been screaming that the right-wingers are intolerant.

Do I sense a tad bit of hypocrisy in the acrid and smoky air above the cities as the violence accelerates and the liberal left Democrats go even farther out of their mind for their Marxist narrative?

Douglas V. Gibbs of Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary, has been featured on Hannity and Fox and Friends on Fox News Channel, and other television shows and networks. Doug is a Radio Host on KMET 1490-AM on Saturdays with his Constitution Radio program, as well as a longtime podcaster, conservative political activist, writer and commentator. Doug can be reached at douglasvgibbs [at] yahoo.com or constitutionspeaker [at] yahoo.com.

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Democrat Terrorists - Canada Free Press

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Perriello has raised more than $1.1million in the month since he entered the race, his campaign announced Monday.

Analysts say it is an early sign that the former congressman is capable of mounting a serious primary challenge to Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who declared his candidacy two years ago and had won backing from nearly every top elected Democrat before Perriello made his surprise entry into the race on Jan.5.

Perriello campaign officials declined to detail the sources of contributions, beyond saying they included 2,500 online donations. Virginia does not cap campaign giving, meaning fundraising totals can be skewed by six-figure checks.

The state requires candidates for governor to file their first campaign finance reports for this year on April 17.

Both Democrats and Republicans will hold a primary election in June; the general election is in November. Virginia and New Jersey are the only states with gubernatorial elections this year.

Perriellos first-month haul is not a super-huge amount, but its an amount that makes people take notice, said Bob Holsworth, a longtime Virginia political analyst. His first hurdle is to overcome the sense that he got in too late and this is already a done deal. A combination of the early polls and the fact he was able to raise a little money is very close to getting him over that hurdle.

[Defamation lawyer turns up heat on anonymous emails in Lt. Gov. race]

Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes gubernatorial races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said the $1.1million haul is a sign that Perriello is competitive, that this is a real race.

[Defamation lawyer turns up heat on anonymous emails in Lt. Gov. race]

A poll released last week by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University showed Northam with an edge over Perriello among Democratic-leaning voters, but also found that voters were largely unfamiliar with both Democratic candidates and most were undecided.

Northam reported raising $2.7million last year and had about $2.5 million available in campaign accounts heading into 2017.

His spokesman, David Turner, said Northam raised an additional $300,000 from 7,000 donors in the first week of January, before the state legislative session began, suspending his ability to accept contributions. He can resume fundraising after the session ends Feb.25.

Perriellos surprise campaign started as a group of his former aides and loyalists working out of his Alexandria home. He now has office space in the city and has hired press aides from Hillary Clintons presidential campaign to manage his communications.

Perriello, who served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives that ended in 2011, has pitched himself as a fierce opponent of President Trump and has made several fundraising appeals asking donors to repudiate Trump by giving to his campaign.

The Democratic candidates have steered clear of directly criticizing one another, instead attacking Trump and Republican Ed Gillespie, who has led polls in his partys four-way race. Gillespie is competing for the nomination against Prince William Board of County Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart, state Sen. Frank W. Wagner (R-Virginia Beach) and distillery owner Denver Riggleman.

Northams campaign started running digital advertisements on Monday that said, Gillespie Backs Trump Muslim Ban.

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Democrat Tom Perriello says he raised $1.1 million a month into Va. gubernatorial campaign - Washington Post

(1 of ) In this Feb. 2, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump listens as he is introduced during the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

JONATHAN J. COOPER

ASSOCIATED PRESS | February 6, 2017, 1:19PM

| Updated 11 hours ago.

SACRAMENTO The war of words escalated Monday between Democratic leaders in the nation's biggest state and Donald Trump after the Republican president said California is "out of control" and suggested withholding federal funding.

In separate statements Monday, the leaders of the state Legislature pointed to California's massive economy and strong job growth, saying the state provides critical contributions to the nation.

"If this is what Donald Trump thinks is 'out of control,' I'd suggest other states should be more like us," said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount.

Trump criticized California during a Fox News interview broadcast on Sunday.

"California in many ways is out of control as you know," he told Fox anchor Bill O'Reilly "Obviously the voters agree or otherwise they wouldn't have voted for me."

Responding to questions from O'Reilly, Trump said California's consideration of legislation to create a statewide sanctuary for people living in the country illegally is "ridiculous."

Trump opposes sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

"They breed crime, there's a lot of problems. We have to well, defund, we give tremendous amounts of money to California," Trump said.

O'Reilly asked if defunding is Trump's "weapon of choice," and the president responded: "I don't want to defund anybody. I want to give them the money they need to properly operate as a city or a state. If they're going to have sanctuary cities, we may have to do that. Certainly that would be a weapon."

California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon said state residents contribute more to federal coffers than their state gets in return, and any sanctions against California would ripple nationwide.

"President Trump's threat to weaponize federal funding is not only unconstitutional but emblematic of the cruelty he seeks to impose on our most vulnerable communities," de Leon said.

Rendon, de Leon and other Democratic leaders in California have fiercely criticized Trump and vowed to fight his policies through the Legislature and in court. The Legislature has hired Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general under President Barack Obama, to advise members on a legal strategy.

California's nonpartisan legislative analyst reported last month that federal expenditures in the state amount to $368 billion a year, most of it to provide health care for people with low incomes.

Trump's defunding suggestion wasn't his first threat to use the power of the federal purse as leverage.

He also signed an executive order threatening to cut off some federal grants for sanctuary cities. Last week, in response to unrest on the campus of University of California, Berkeley, he sent a tweet saying: "If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view NO FEDERAL FUNDS?"

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California Democrats counter President Trump's threat to withhold federal funding - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be the headliner at a Thursday dinner reception moderated by CNN political commentator Van Jones. | Getty

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and comedian Chelsea Handler will headline House Democrats retreat this week as lawmakers head to Baltimore to regroup after months of intra-party turmoil.

This will be Democrats' first annual retreat in years without former President Barack Obama a frequent guest at the party meetings in the White House. More than 120 members are expected to attend the confab with the goal of hammering out a messaging strategy to counter President Donald Trump.

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House Democrats are trying to find their way after a disappointing election they only picked up a handful of seats despite predicting double-digit gains and weeks of post-election upheaval culminating with a third of the caucus voting against longtime leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Pelosi won reelection as House minority leader but has been working behind the scenes in the two months since to repair relationships in a caucus she once ruled with an iron grip. More broadly, the Democratic Party is in an ongoing tug-of-war between progressives and conservatives with no natural leader to referee.

The retreat is expected to include the presentation of an election post-mortem by Reps. Ben Ray Lujn (D-N.M.), who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Comittee, and Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.). It will dissect why the caucus didnt pick up nearly as many seats as they were confidentially predicting in the run-up to the election.

The theme of this weeks gathering is Fighting for All Americans and will feature several closed-door sessions on "fake news," national security, the economy and civil rights. Democrats will also hold a panel tilted After the Womens March: Empowering Grassroots Energy."

Pelosi on Sunday called for an FBI investigation into Trumps finances, insinuating its possible the president is being blackmailed by Russia. Trump has called such suggestions preposterous.

House and Senate panels are currently investigating Russian tampering in the U.S. election, including any ties to the Trump campaign.

"I want to know what the Russians have on Donald Trump," she told Chuck Todd on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Abdul-Jabbar will be the headliner at a Thursday dinner reception moderated by CNN political commentator Van Jones. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) will introduce the basketball legend.

Abdul-Jabbar has a special connection to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley. Both men graduated from Power Memorial High School, a former all-boys Catholic high school in New York City known for being a basketball powerhouse, in different years.

Crowley (D-N.Y.) also spearheaded a letter urging Obama to award Abdul-Jabbar with the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year.

Handler will close out the three-day retreat during a reception Friday. The comedian, who hosts an eponymous talk show on Netflix, recently went on a rant against Democrats and denounced her party affiliation.

Forget your party. Im registering as an independent. Im not going to be a Democrat anymore because its too divisive, Handler told Variety in an interview after the Womens March last month.

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Abdul-Jabbar, Chelsea Handler bring star power to Democratic ... - Politico