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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Democrats in Palm Beach County had mixed feelings Monday about former President Donald Trump's impending arraignment this week.

They believe it sends the right message, but there are some concerns about how this may further divide the country.

Democrats said the indictment has been a long time coming, but they are not celebrating because many also believe it does not improve the morale of the country.

RELATED: Poll shows support for Trump remains strong despite indictment

The Box Gallery located in West Palm Beach is a place where art meets advocacy, often a stage to highlight big issues in the Legislature.

Owner Rolando Chang Barrero, the president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus in Palm Beach County, thinks Trump's indictment has had enough of the spotlight.

"I think Trump has gotten his money's worth out of that hush money," Barrero said. "I think it's time to put it to rest."

Barrero believes many Democrats feel the indictment was long overdue.

"I think it's going to be a boon to confront apathy," Barrero said. "People have gotten very apathetic, thinking that nothing gets done, that politics are just outside of the reach."

Other voters said they're more interested in what's in the indictment rather than the spectacle of a surrender.

"Everybody has their opinion," voter Matthew Martino said, "but once you get to the court, the facts matter, so the facts will speak for themselves."

Voter Amy Jordan said this isn't a Democrat versus Republican issue. She hopes Trump and all elected officials are held accountable if they're suspected of wrongdoing.

"Taking no responsibility, I would say that if he was a Democrat. I'm so tired of the sides," Jordan said. "This is about an incompetent leader who wants attention, which the media has given him."

Palm Beach County Democratic Party chair Mindy Koch released the following statement on Trump's upcoming arraignment:

"We have faith in the American justice system and know that through this process our democracy will be strengthened," Koch said.

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Donald Trump's indictment brings mixed emotions for Democrats amid fears of more division - WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm

On the evening of March 31, 1968, at the end of a televised speech to the nation on the raging war in Vietnam, Lyndon Johnson made a stunning announcement, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president. It had been a tightly held secret. LBJ, in fact, had two separate endings to the speech. Vice President Hubert Humphrey (who went on to lose the 1968 election to Richard Nixon) was only informed of Johnsons final decision midway through the speech.

For all of Johnsons raging ambition, his reelection campaign effectively died three weeks earlier when Eugene McCarthya cerebral, mercurial antiwar Minnesota senatorwon more than 40 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary. The stunning repudiation of the Vietnam War in the kickoff primary prompted the doomed Robert Kennedy to also enter the race against Johnson in mid-March. After the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Kennedy, the bitterly divided Democrats nominated Humphrey, amid the stench of tear gas at the August Chicago convention.

1976: A Man, A Plan, Panama

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Democrats (and Republicans) Have Challenged Their Party's ... - The New Republic

Rep. Jeff Jackson of North Carolina has used it to explain the complex fight over raising the debt limit. Rep. Robert Garcia of California has used it to engage with members of the LGBTQ+ community. And Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has used it to give an overview of Election Day results.

Aspressure against TikTok mountsin Washington, the more than two dozen members of Congress all Democrats who are active on the social media platform are being pushed by their colleagues to stop using it. Many defend their presence on the platform, saying they have a responsibility as public officials to meet Americans where they are andmore than 150 million are on TikTok.

Im sensitive to the ban and recognize some of the security implications. But there is no more robust and expeditious way to reach young people in the United States of America than TikTok, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota told The Associated Press.

Yet the lawmakers active on TikTok remain a distinct minority. Most in Congress are in favor of limiting the app, forcing a sale to remove connections to China or even banning it outright. The U.S. armed forces and more than half of U.S. states havealready banned the appfrom official devices, as has the federal government. Similar bans have been imposed in Denmark, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand, as well as the European Union.

Criticism of TikTok reached a new level last week asCEO Shou Zi Chew testifiedfor more than six hours at a contentious hearing in the House. Lawmakers grilled Chew about the implications of the app for Americas national security and the effect on the mental health of its users. And the tough questions came from both sides of the aisle, as Republicans and Democrats alike pressed Chew about TikToks content moderation practices, its ability to shield American data from Beijing and its spying on journalists.

Ive got to hand it to you, said Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, as members questioned Chew over data security and harmful content. Youve actually done something that in the last three to four years has not happened except for the exception of maybe (Russian President) Vladimir Putin. You have unified Republicans and Democrats.

While the hearing made plain that lawmakers view TikTok as a threat, their lack of first-hand experience with the app was apparent at times. Some made inaccurate and head-scratching comments, seemingly not understanding how TikTok connects to a home Wi-Fi router or how it moderates illicit content.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., who is active on the app and opposes a nationwide ban, called the hearing cringeworthy.

It was just so painful to watch, he told the AP on Friday. And it just shows the real problem is Congress doesnt have a lot of expertise, whether it be social media or, for that matter, more importantly, technology.

Garcia, who said he uses TikTok more as a consumer, said most of his colleagues who are proposing a nationwide ban told him they had never used the app. It gets hard to understand if youre not actually on it, the freshman Democrat said. And at the end of the day, a lot of TikTok is harmless people dancing and funny videos.

Its also incredibly rich educational content, and learning how to bake and learning about the political process, he said.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., who has more than 180,000 followers on the app, held a news conference with TikTok influencers before the hearing. He accused Republicans of pushing a ban on TikTok for political reasons.

There are 150 million people on TikTok and we are more connected to them than Republicans are, Bowman said. So for them, its all about fear-mongering and power. Its not TikTok, because, again, weve looked the other way and allowed Facebook and other platforms to do similar things.

Critics of TikTok in Congress say their opposition is rooted in national security, not politics. TikTok is a wholly owned subsidiary ofChinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives. They worry Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over TikTok data on American users, effectively turning the app into a data-mining operation for a foreign power. The company insists it is taking steps to make sure that can never happen.

The basic approach that were following is to make it physically impossible for any government, including the Chinese government, to get access to U.S. user data,general counsel Erich Andersensaid during an interview with the AP on Friday at a cybersecurity conference in California.

TikTok has been emphasizing a $1.5 billion proposal to store all U.S. user data on servers owned and maintained bythe software giant Oracle. Access to U.S. data would be managed by U.S. employees through a separate entity run independently of ByteDance and monitored by outside observers.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina took the unusual step of releasing a public statement urging all members of Congress to stop using TikTok, including from his home state seemingly a jab at Jackson, who is one of the more active members with more than 1.8 million followers.

I was just saying if were having a discussion about TikTok then I think we ought to at least reduce the pull factor by elected officials who can simply come off of it, Tillis said this week, when asked about his statement. I dont have a TikTok account. So that was an easy separation for me.

Loud warnings about TikTok have also been comingfrom President Joe Bidens administration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and FBI Director Christopher Wray have told Congress in recent weeks that TikTok is a national security threat. Blinken told lawmakers the threat should be ended one way or another.

But some members are unconvinced.

Its like turning your cell phone off on an airplane. Youre supposed to do. And if it was super dangerous, I dont think we will be allowed to have the phone on the plane, Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, said Wednesday, So if it was super dangerous for members of Congress to have this app on their phone, you have to imagine the administration or our government would say absolutely not, you cant have it on a government phone.

Concerns about what kind of content Americans encounter online, or how their data is collected by technology companies, also arent new. Congress has been wanting to curtail the amount of data tech companies collect on consumers through a national privacy law, but those efforts have stalled repeatedly over the years.

Supporters of TikTok on Capitol Hill are urging their colleagues to educate themselves about social media as a whole so Congress can pass legislation that deals with broader issues of data privacy, instead of hyper-focusing on a ban of TikTok, which could risk political backlash and a court fight over the reach of the First Amendment.

We are uninformed and misinformed. We dont even understand how social media works. We dont know anything about data brokers and how data brokers sell our data to foreign countries and foreign companies right now, Bowman said. So ban TikTok tomorrow, this stuff is still going to be happening.

___

Associated Press writer Haleluya Hadero in Sausalito, California, contributed to this report.

Originally posted here:
Cringeworthy: Millennial and Gen Z-friendly Democrats say efforts to ban TikTok are missing the point - Fortune

Local members of the Jefferson County Democratic Party gathered Saturday for their annual dinner and reception and heard from both state and local leaders concerning the partys plans for the future.

Standing before a portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl said the party wants to bring people together to achieve real solutions to problems, and have less of the division that he said is harmful to politics.

People will shoot to one side and they dont really listen to the detail. They dont really get the facts. They dont really get the context, Schmuhl said. It feels like people are so pushed to the edges. Youre either on this side or on that side.

Schmuhl said the Democratic party, with its policies and issues, is seeking to deliver for people ... Were focusing on issues that are less partisan, and about solving problems for people.

He noted that Joe Kernan was the last Democratic Governor in Indiana, losing in 2004 to Republican Mitch Daniels. What I have been telling people all over the state is we need to have a conversation about the last 20 years in Indiana, and whether we like what were getting out of our government.

Cami Keltch, one of the leaders of the newly created Jefferson County Democratic Alliance, formerly the Jefferson County Democratic Womens Club, said shes working to get more women involved in the political process locally, statewide and nationally through the Democratic Party.

I am eager to find ways to get more women involved in our local Democratic party, state and nationally. As it currently stands 52% of our countys population is comprised of women, yet only 35% of our elected positions are held by women, Keltch said, noting that rather than resurrect a womens club we wanted a group thats all inclusive and thats the reason for the new name for the organization whose mission will be to support the county Democratic party candidates through fundraising, canvassing, education, mentorship and the recruitment of members and future candidates. We have a lot of big ideas on how to make our local party stronger.

Keltch said although she is a baby to the political arena she decided to become active in the Democratic party because she realized that showing up to the ballot box every year is no longer enough and she wants to be a part of being a changemaker.

Adam Dickey, chair of the Ninth District Democratic Party, said this time and moment in history demands that Democrats be part of the change. It will be what defines us to future generations and makes all the difference for our communities moving forward.

In an election year when voters will focus on municipal elections in the city of Madison, the top local race for will be for mayor where Councilman Dan Dattilo will carry the Democratic Partys banner against incumbent Republican Bob Courtney.

Im passionate about this city, said Dan Dattilo, a third generation Madisonian who has been an at-large member on city council since 2016. My wife and I chose to raise our children here, and outside my college career Ive been here in Madison my whole life.

Dattilo said he plans to bring bold leadership to the office. When I say bold leadership, I mean making decisions that arent always easy, but are right, which can involve taking risks and be willing to make mistakes.

Bold leadership requires transparency and its important that Im honest with the public and with all the decisions I make, Dattilo added. Transparency builds trust and trust will build a foundation in my time as Mayor. And when Im transparent, Ill show the public that I respect them and I am committed to serving their interests.

Dattilo said he will oppose wasteful spending and provide clear and regular updates about planned spending and expenditures as well as require all city employees to sign statements of ethics.

He said he plans to foster a good working relationship with Jefferson County Commissioners and all nearby cities and value diversity within the administration and on city boards. Those are my promises.

A guidance counselor at Southwestern High School, Dattilo said he listens to people often. I hear good and bad. Im not here to judge. Im here to listen. I will do the same as your Mayor, the same as I have done as your councilman because your ideas will impact my decisions. I need to hear from all of you. That is important to me.

I love the diverse people of Madison. Its a wonderful place to be. It has great architecture, a beautiful setting, amazing people its a great place to work, play and live. Im so proud of this community and I want to make it even better, Dattilo said.

Schmuhl said the Indiana Democratic Party stands for strong and safe communities, stronger public education for kids, more pay for teachers in Indiana and more programming for workforce development in Indiana. He said Democrats want to create opportunities for keeping young people in Indiana so they have a future in the state and protect the environment and natural resources.

Jefferson County is a beautiful county, and we should be protecting those natural resources for generations to come, Schmuhl said. He noted the Democratic party will always stand up for organized labor and working people, lower healthcare costs for Hoosiers, and always protecting Social Security and Medicare.

Although the Democratic Party is currently the minority party in Indiana, Schmuhl said hes optimistic about the partys future because of our policies and our values. I think were transparent. I think were open. I think were honest.

He noted that President Joe Biden talks a lot about respect. Its about dignity, its about the soul of our nation. Thats why I am hopeful for the future of the Democratic Party in Indiana. I dont think those are just Democratic Party values, I think those are American values, and I think if we do a better job of getting our message out there, I think more and more Hoosiers will agree with us.

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Local Democrats hoping to bring voters back to the party - Madison Courier

Republican Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly saluted the crowd as he took the stage Sunday in Mt. Plesant, Wis., which was quickly preceded by the Republican mantra of we are at war. (Staff Photo: Steve Schuster)

Wisconsin Republicans said they are at war with Democrats, the mainstream news media and federal government control at a Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign event for Dan Kelly on Sunday in Mount Pleasant.

There has been a stark difference among the campaign events Democrats and Republicans have been holding across the Badger State in anticipation of April 4s election.

On Saturday, former Attorney General Eric Holder, who was stumping for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz, made it clear why the election was so important, discussing collective bargaining, abortion, gerrymandering, voters rights and more.

On Sunday, several Wisconsin Republican officials from local, state and federal offices stumped for Wisconsin Supreme Court Candidate Dan Kelly.

At Sundays event, Wisconsin GOP party chair and former lobbyist Brian Schimming showed off his conceal and carry card. The next speaker, Andrew Docksey, another Racine GOP official, said Republicans are at war with Democrats, the news media and the federal government who exert too much control.

We need volunteers to help us fight this war, said a GOP official.

In his opening remarks, Republican Rep Brian Steil said, And so the good news is we took away the speakers gavel from Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Rep. Steil talked about his interview on FOX News discussing Trumps indictment, arguing that the federal tax dollars used in the investigation should instead be used to keep the streets of New York safe.

However, in the wake of Trumps indictment, more law enforcement have been called to the street in anticipation of protests creating a strain on resources.

There are more police out there today because they are getting ready for the rivals of Trump, said Johns Hopkins Political Science Professor Matthew Crenson during an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal on Monday.

Trumps arrival has preoccupied a large amount of police resources. This may reduce police protection in other areas of New York, so perhaps its Trump who is contributing to decline in safety in our streets, Crenson added.

The Manhattan District Attorneys office said in a written response to Congress that as you are no doubt aware, former President Trump has directed harsh invective against District Attorney Bragg and threatened on social media that his arrest or indictment in New York may unleash death & destruction.

Additionally, District Attorney Braggs office has spoken up against Republican congressional interference with a local prosecution. In the past, Republicans have complained about federal government interference with local matters.

Congress has no warrant for interfering with individual criminal investigations, The Manhattan District Attorneys said in the written statement provided to the Wisconsin Law Journal.

The statement also made clear that Manhattan District Attorneys office only uses limited federal funds to effectively fight crime and help victims. In the case of Trumps prosecution, only around $5,000 in federal money was used, according to the district attorneys statement.

Our review of the Offices records reflect that, of the federal forfeiture money that the Office helped collect, approximately $5,000 was spent on expenses incurred relating to the investigation of Donald J. Trump or the Trump Organization, the statement said.

Rep. Steil said Democrats want to radicalize the judicial system and are not interested in equal treatment under the law.

If you look back at DA Bragg what you will see its the far left radical people that support the man and youll look see its the same cast of characters that are pouring money into the state of Wisconsin in what the far left wants to do. They want to radicalize the judicial system to implement their goals and objectives, Steil said.

In response, a Protasiewicz campaign spokesperson said, We know what kind of justice Dan Kelly will be, because weve already seen it. Instead of following the law, he brought corruption and extremism to the bench, ruling in favor of his special interests friends in case after case. This is a someone who even un-recused himself after receiving $20,000 in campaign contributions from a litigant and his family. Dan Kelly will manipulate the law and the court to fit his own political agenda. Judge Janet Protasiewicz is the only candidate who has spent three decades upholding our laws and following the constitution, and shes the best choice to bring fairness and impartiality back to the court.

A Wisconsin Law Journal investigation also revealed that a significant amount of out-of-state money has been added to Kellys campaign war chest, including $20,000 from Northern Virginia attorney Leonard Leo, who served as past vice president of the Federalist Society and was instrumental in the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Additionally, Steil said that Republicans core objectives are to treat everyone equally. However, the Republican-controlled state Legislature has Wisconsin ranked as one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation.

Republicans took issue with a comment allegedly made by Protasiewicz that if elected to the state Supreme Court she would be open to reviewing gerrymandered maps to determine if they were fair and balanced.

Janet Protasiewicz admitted she wanted to get another look at the maps. Thats why I was saying to the media the more Janet Protasiewicz talks, the better it is, because she keeps talking about what she is going to do unethically, said Schimming, the Wisconsin GOP chair.

He said that it would unethical for the Supreme Court to review the legality of gerrymandered maps. Those maps were created by former Gov. Scott Walker and implemented in 2011. Kelly defended the maps when the Republican party was his client.

However, the Wisconsin Supreme Court could be faced with deciding if a lower court erred in a prior ruling pertaining to legislative maps.

At the Kelly campaign event in Mount Pleasant on Sunday, the topics of abortion, voter rights, education, the environment, gerrymandering, the environment were not discussed much, a stark contrast to Protasiewiczs event Saturday.

Instead on Sunday, Republican elected officials continued their attacks against the media, Democrats and the federal government.

As Kelly took the stage on Sunday and began discussing how his opponent would take away liberties, at the same time Wisconsin Republicans began to censor the press. Andrew Docksey, a Racine Republican Party executive board member told the Wisconsin Law Journal that photography and videography were no longer allowed, despite several others in the room taking pictures and recording video.

After the Wisconsin Law Journal ceased taking photos and video Docksey then told the Wisconsin Law Journal to stop sending text messages and stop taking notes, as this was not permissible during the public event.

A GOP audience member recorded video of Dan Kelly speaking Sunday as Wisconsin Republicans told The Wisconsin Law Journal that no photos, video, note taking, or texting was allowed. (Staff photo: Steve Schuster)

In contrast to Saturdays event for the Wisconsin Democrats attended by Holder, the media was allowed to record video, take photographs send text messages, and take notes without issue.

At the Democrats event Saturday, voter rights and voter suppression were key topics of discussion.

Wisconsin is probably the most gerrymandered state in the country, Holder said, noting that Democrats only have about 35% of the Wisconsin Legislature, which Holder said is a direct result of the gerrymandering political lines that were redrawn in 2011 under Walker and defended by Kelly.

In the last 20 minutes of Sundays GOP event, Kelly took his opponent to task on many of her views.

And there Protasiewicz was asked about the scales of justice. Youve probably heard about that before, right?

Kelly added that Protasiewicz will be making decisions for the people because she doesnt trust you.

Meanwhile, Holder said during Saturdays event, People around the country looked to Wisconsin for how democracy should be perfected. And now, people are looking at Wisconsin yet again, to see how democracy can be saved.

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Wisconsin GOP: 'We are at war' with Democrats, news media and ... - Wisconsin Law Journal