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I cant remember the last time a Democratic and a Republican legislative leader walked together through the doors of the Chicago Sun-Times, or any newspaper, to jointly ask for the papers support on a major issue.

Senate President John Cullerton and Republican Leader Christine Radogno paid such a visit to the Sun-Times Editorial Board Thursday afternoon.

It was refreshing.

OPINION

Cullerton and Radogno, as you might have read, have been working together to bring an end to Illinois two-year old budget impasse.

Theyve cobbled together a far-reaching package of legislative measures in an effort to reach a compromise.

RELATED:Senate leaders push budget plan, wont cap income tax hike

There are 13 pieces of legislation in all, containing everything from an income tax increase to a temporary property tax freeze to a new school funding formula and massive gambling expansion that includes a Chicago casino.

Any one of these bills would be a heavy lift in normal times, but the Senate leaders have tied them all together so that if one measure fails, the whole package fails.

Its a rare, maybe unprecedented, tactic, with actual language in the individual bills tying the fate of each to the others. Neither Cullerton nor Radogno could recall trying this approach on so large a scale.

The idea is that everybody gives something, and everybody getssomething, a true compromise. But its also a lot of moving parts, making it that much easier for somebody to gum up the works, which is why they are seeking support.

Some people are already saying the individual pieces of legislation dont go far enough to fix the problems in Illinois government. Others say they go too far.

Cullerton and Radogno arent in love with everything they are putting forward either, but in their presentation to the Sun-Times, they swallowed their differences to present a united front and side-stepped opportunities for laying blame.

That was refreshing, too.

The compromise only involves the Senate, and even that is tenuous, as individual senators come under pressure to vote against portions of the deal.

The Senate leaders say they have consulted neither Gov. Bruce Rauner nor House Speaker Michael Madigan in shaping their agreement.

The goal here is to show that were not working with the governor or against the governor. Were not working with the House or against the House, is how Cullerton explained it Thursday.

That might prove the undoing of the Senate plan, or it might outmaneuver the more powerful duo who have been front and center in the political standoff since Rauners election in 2014.

Democrats are coming under fire for proposals that would cut the costs of public pensions and make the workers compensation system less costly to employers.

Republicans will have trouble supporting the income tax increase in particular. The proposal would take the individual income tax rate back up to 4.95 percent, just short of the temporary 5 percent rate that the Legislature allowed to lapse after Rauner made it a political hot potato and Democrats chickened out.

Cullerton and Radogno, who promised to cast their own vote for each of the13 bills, say they plan to pass the legislation through the Senate next week, and then hope the House will be forced to engage in compromise of its own.

Its very difficult to force Madigans hand, but in the interest of self-preservation for his members and retaining the House leadership he covets above all else its possible the Senate moves will motivate him to find common ground as well.

The possibility that voters will blame them all and hold them accountable in 2018 is part of what moved both Democrat and Republican senators to insist that their leaders look harder for bipartisan solutions.

Blessed are the peacemakers, even in Illinois politics.

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Brown: Rare and refreshingDemocrat, Republican working together - Chicago Sun-Times

Donald Trump is not the sort of father who pretends to love his children equally. His favorite is obviously Ivanka, the one he wants to bang, created with ex-wife Ivana, who despite allegedly raping and humiliating her with a public affair with Marla Maples, he seems to (somewhat) respect. When it comes to Tiffany Trump, spawn of our soon-to-be president and mistress-turned-second-wife Maples, Trump seems to forget she exists. Perhaps its that he doesnt seem to take her mother seriously, or perhaps its because she wont accept his advances. On Daddy Donalds big day, the day hes fucking inaugurated to become the president of the United States, Tiffany brought along a date. His name isRoss Mechanic. He is 22 years old (one year younger than Tiffany) and he has been a registered Democrat since 2012.

Presidential inaugurations hardly seem like the type of event that warrants plus-ones, but, least favorite or not, Tiffany is going to be a first daughter, and has been datingMechanic for sometime. On Tuesday, Jezebel reported that Tiffany and her mother Marla had to split a $300 glam budget between the two of them, which for normal people is plenty of cash to look presentable, although granted, small considering the man theyre coming to support is a multi-billionaire, and you can assume Ivanka spent many times that amount.

But dont feel too sorry for Marla and Tiffany. They apparently tried to get stylistTricia Kelly to work for free and were assholes about it, and while photographed arriving with her Democrat date, Tiffanys hair looks fab. So obviously girl had no problems in the end working that glam budget. Towing along a boyfriend who is aregistered Democrat to the inauguration of rogue Republican Donald Trump could be a big fuck you to her father, or perhaps its simply true love and the two cant stand to be apart. Love is the only reason I can fathom that a Democrat would put on a suit and tie to sit respectfully as Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.

[photo: Getty]

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Shunned daughter Tiffany brings Democrat boyfriend to inauguration - Death and Taxes

Former Virginia senator and Democratic presidential candidate Jim Webb said Friday that President-elect Trump's inauguration creates the opportunity to "reset" the national discussion on race, including addressing the issue of "reverse discrimination," or discrimination directed at the white majority.

"[T]he discussion is mired in the biracial dialogue of the 1960s, while our challenges have become multicultural and mixed with reverse discrimination. Many people who want to remedy this voted for Mr. Trump. One can hope his administration will seek policies to reduce racial tensions and increase fairness for all Americans," Webb said in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Webb, a former secretary of the Navy under President Ronald Reagan as well as a noted author, has long had a preoccupation with racial issues. He has often expressed the belief that emphasis on the concerns of minorities in the government and the broader U.S. culture has come at the expense of working-class whites, many of whom are suffering economically. He returned to that theme in his Journal op-ed.

"Few would dispute the original purpose of affirmative action, which was to help African-Americans remove the 'badges of slavery.' But after the 1965 Immigration Reform Act, the ethnic makeup of the country dramatically changed. Affirmative action expanded into broader diversity programs, often discriminating against poorer blacks and Americans who happened to be white. Working whites have been hit particularly hard, since white America is not a monolith but a composite of cultures widely stratified in terms of education and income," Webb wrote.

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"The disparate impact of diversity programs on different white cultures is not apparent using broad statistics based on race. In addition, more frequent racial intermarriage has blurred the data further, and will continue to do so," he said.

Webb was a star in the Democratic party a decade ago for his staunch criticism of President George W. Bush and the Iraq War and for defeating Republican Senator George Allen in his 2006 re-election bid. However Webb's opinions on the issue of race and other issues have often put him on the outs with his party.

He challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2015 but drew scant support and dropped out of the race in late 2015. He toyed with the idea of an independent bid after that but decided against it, and remains somewhat estranged from the party.

Top Story

D.C. police said they have arrested more than 90 people at the protest.

01/20/17 2:04 PM

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Former Senate Democrat: Trump can fix 'reverse discrimination' - Washington Examiner (blog)

In American politics, a libertarian Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with U.S. libertarian-leaning political viewpoints or views that are relatively libertarian compared to the views of the national party.[1][2]

While other factions of the Democratic Party are organized in the Congress, like with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition, the libertarian faction is not organized in such a way. Nevertheless, groups made up of the party membership, such as the Democratic Freedom Caucus do exist.[3] It was established in 1996 by Hanno Beck, Mike O'Mara and Andrew Spark.[4] The caucus maintains a platform,[5] a list of principles,[6] and a guide for activists.[7] The group's leadership currently includes 40 state chairs and regional representatives.[8]

Libertarian Democrats support the majority of positions of the Democratic Party. However they do not necessarily share identical viewpoints across the political spectrum; that is, they are more likely to support individual and personal freedoms, although rhetorically within the context of Democratic values.[9]

In general they support tax cuts, same-sex marriage, the decriminalization of marijuana, a non-interventionist foreign policy, and to a certain extent, hard money. They are more likely to oppose deficit spending, protectionism, subsidies (especially to corporations), race-based affirmative action, and many regulations on small businesses.[10]

They staunchly support civil liberties and agree with the national party's stances on civil rights, separation of church and state, and habeas corpus for unlawful combatants; they oppose indefinite detention without trial or charge, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the USA PATRIOT Act, warrantless wiretapping, the War on Drugs, bans on gambling, and prohibition of prostitution.[11]

While maintaining a relatively libertarian ideology, they may differ with the Libertarian Party on issues such as consumer protection, health care reform, anti-trust laws and the overall amount of government involvement in the economy.[9]

After election losses in 2004, the Democratic Party reexamined its position on gun control which became a matter of discussion, brought up by Howard Dean, Bill Richardson, Brian Schweitzer and other Democrats who had won in states where Second Amendment rights are important to many voters. The resulting stance on gun control brought in libertarian minded voters, influencing other beliefs.

In the 2010s, following the revelations by Edward Snowden about NSA surveillance in 2013, the increasing advent of online decentralization and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the perceived failure of the War on Drugs, and the police violence in places like Ferguson, Democratic lawmakers such as Senators Ron Wyden, Kirsten Gilibrand, and Cory Booker and Representative Jared Polis have worked alongside libertarian Republicans like Senator Rand Paul and Representative Justin Amash to curb what is seen as government overreach in each of these areas, earning plaudits from such traditional libertarian sources as Reason Magazine.[12][13][14][15] The growing political power of Silicon Valley, a longtime Democratic stronghold that is friendly to economic deregulation and strong civil liberties protections while maintaining traditionally liberal views on social issues, has also seriously affected the increasingly libertarian leanings of young Democrats.[16][17][18]

The libertarian faction has influenced the presidential level as well in the post-Bush era. Alaska Senator and presidential aspirant Mike Gravel left the Democratic Party midway through the 2008 presidential election cycle to seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination,[19] and many anti-war and civil libertarian Democrats were energized by the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns of Ron Paul.[20][21] This constituency has arguably embraced the 2016 presidential campaign of independent Democrat Bernie Sanders for the same reasons.[22][23]

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Libertarian Democrat - Wikipedia

Margaret "Maggie" Hassan (ne Wood; born February 27, 1958) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party[1] who has been the current and 81st Governor of New Hampshire since January 2013, and is also U.S. Senator-elect from New Hampshire, taking office in January 2017.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Hassan is a graduate of Brown University and earned her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law. After graduating from law school in 1985, Hassan was an attorney and healthcare executive in Boston.

Hassan first ran for the New Hampshire Senate in 2002 after Democratic Party leaders recruited her to run, as they have also done for United States Senate.[2][3] She lost to incumbent Senator Russell Prescott, but ran against Prescott again in 2004 and won.[4][5] Hassan was elected to a total of three two-year terms, representing New Hampshire's 23rd district, from January 2005 to December 2010. Hassan became the Democrat Majority Leader in the State Senate in 2008 before losing re-election in 2010.[6]

Hassan declared her candidacy for governor in October 2011. Hassan defeated former State Senator Jacalyn Cilley in the Democratic primary, and faced attorney and Republican nominee Ovide M. Lamontagne in the general election. Hassan won with 55% of the vote, becoming the second woman to be elected to the office, after fellow Democrat, and fellow U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Hassan won re-election as governor on November 4, 2014. Since becoming Governor of New Hampshire, Hassan was elected Vice Chair of the Democratic Governors Association and served as a superdelegate at the Democratic National Convention.[3]

In 2016, she ran for the U.S. Senate and unseated Kelly Ayotte, the Republican incumbent in New Hampshire.[7] She will serve with Jeanne Shaheen; both politicians have served as New Hampshire Governor prior to unseating an incumbent senator.

Hassan was born Margaret Wood in the city of Boston, Massachusetts,[8] the daughter of Margaret (Byers) and Robert Coldwell Wood, a political scientist who served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Lyndon Johnson administration. Her brother is the Tony award-winning actor Frank Wood.[9][10]

Wood attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, Sudbury, Massachusetts, and graduated with the Class of 1976. Wood earned her B.A. from Brown University in 1980. While at Brown, Wood met her future husband, Thomas Hassan, who was also a student at the university.[2] She received her J.D. from the Northeastern University School of Law in 1985.[11][12]

From 1985 to 1999, Hassan worked as an attorney.[11] From 1985 to 1992, Hassan worked at the Boston, law firm, PalmerDodge Advisors. From 1993 to 1996, Hassan was Associate General Counsel for Brigham and Women's Hospital/Partners Healthcare of Boston.

In 1996, Hassan began working as an attorney for Sullivan, Weinstein and McQuay, a Boston corporate defense and business law firm.[13] In 1999, Hassan was appointed by then-Governor Jeanne Shaheen as a citizen advisor to the Advisory Committee to the Adequacy in Education and Finance Commission.[11]

Hassan first ran for the New Hampshire Senate in 2002 after Democratic Party leaders suggested she run.[2] She lost to incumbent Senator Russell Prescott 54% to 46%.[4] In 2004, she ran against Prescott again and won 52% to 48%.[14] In 2006, she won re-election against Natalie Healy 60% to 40%.[5] In 2008, she defeated Lee Quandt 57% to 43%.[15] She served as the assistant Democratic whip, president pro tempore, and majority leader of the State Senate during her six years in office. She represented New Hampshire's 23rd district, which includes the towns of East Kingston, Exeter, Kensington, Kingston, Newfields, Newmarket, Newton, Seabrook, South Hampton and Stratham.

In November 2010, Hassan was defeated by Prescott in a second rematch, 53% to 47%,[16] as Republicans regained control of both the state House and state Senate.[17]

Hassan served on the Capital Budget Committee and the Budget Conference Committee.[18]

Hassan helped pass the FY2008-FY2009 budget.[19] This budget increased spending by over a billion dollars and contained thirteen tax and fee increases, including raising vehicle registration fees.[20]

During her tenure as majority leader, Hassan had a major role in legalizing same-sex marriage in New Hampshire. [21]

Hassan helped pass the FY2010-FY2011 budget.[22] This budget increased spending by over a billion dollars and contained thirty-three tax and fee increases, including taxing campsites like hotel rooms, a so-called "income tax" on New Hampshire business, and raising vehicle registration fees.[23][24]

The Nashua Telegraph has criticized higher vehicle registration fees as a misguided budgeting tactic that falls hardest on those who can least afford it.

In October 2011, Hassan announced her candidacy for governor of New Hampshire.[25] She won the Democratic primary with 53%, defeating former state senator Jacalyn Cilley, who received 39%.[26]

Hassan was also endorsed by former U.S. President Bill Clinton[27][28] Campaign themes included implementing the Affordable Care Act.[29]

In the general election, Hassan defeated Republican nominee Ovide M. Lamontagne by 55% to 43%, carrying every county in the state.[30] Her campaign was managed by Matt Burgess and senior consultants included media consultant Joe Slade White.[31]

Independent expenditure groups spent more than $11 million on Hassan's behalf. Major financial support for Hassan's election came from the Washington, D.C.-based Democratic Governor's Association, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Education Association.[32]

In June 2014, Hassan filed to run for re-election.[33] She defeated Ian Freeman in the Democratic primary election on September 9, 2014, going on to defeat Republican Walt Havenstein in the general election by a margin of 52% to 48%. Hassan carried 7 of 10 counties.[34]

In August 2014, New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster, a Hassan appointee, ordered her to return $24,000 in campaign contributions that violated New Hampshire campaign finance laws.[35] In October 2014, Hassan was ordered to return another $25,000 in funds a union donated to her gubernatorial campaign because the union had not properly registered with the state a political committee.[36][undue weight? discuss]

Hassan was sworn in as Governor for a two-year term on January 3, 2013. In December 2013, she was elected as vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association.[37]

In 2013, Hassan signed a bill creating a state sea level rise commission.[38][39]

During a conflict between two sides of the Demoulas family, which owns the Market Basket grocery chain, Hassan urged the family to resolve the dispute, which threatened 9,000 jobs in New Hampshire.[40]

In July 2015, Hassan vetoed a bill that would have removed the licensing requirement for carrying concealed firearms in New Hampshire.[41]

In response to New Hampshire's opioid crisis, Hassan appointed Jack Wozmak as the state's "drug czar" in early 2015. He resigned one year later in response to complaints about his job performance.[42][43]

Hassan also worked to preserve funding for Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the state.[44]

On October 5, 2015, Hassan announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 2016. She challenged incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte.[45] The race was considered one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races of the year.[46]

Hassan was endorsed by the pro-choice Democratic political action committee EMILY's List, which also backed her two gubernatorial runs.[47] Hassan endorsed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary.[48]

Hassan has said climate change and reproductive rights would be her top priorities if she were elected to the Senate.[49]

On November 9, 2016, the afternoon following election day, Hassan was declared the winner in an extremely close race.[50]

Hassan's husband, Thomas, was Principal of Phillips Exeter Academy from 2008-2015, and as of 2014 was the president-elect of School Year Abroad.[51] When Hassan's husband was Principal of Phillips Exeter Academy, the Hassans did not live in the Governor's Mansion, instead living in a colonial mansion on the Phillips Exeter campus provided to them as part of her husband's employment.[2] After Thomas Hassan left his position at Phillips Exeter Academy, the Hassans returned to their home in Exeter.[a][2][52] Hassan has two adult children, the older of whom, Ben, has cerebral palsy.[8]

Link:
Maggie Hassan - Wikipedia