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As a co-founder of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, once antagonized his partys leadership so mercilessly that former Speaker John A. Boehner, whom he helped chase from his position, branded him a legislative terrorist.

Less than a decade later, Mr. Jordan a fast-talking Republican often seen sans jacket, known for his hard-line stances and aggressive tactics is now one of two leading candidates to claim the very speakership whose occupants he once tormented.

Mr. Jordans journey from the fringe of Republican politics to its epicenter on Capitol Hill is a testament to how sharply his party has veered to the right in recent years, and how thoroughly it has adopted his pugilistic style.

Those forces played a pivotal role in the downfall of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy this past week, though Mr. Jordan, once a thorn in his side, had since allied himself with Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican. Now, the same dynamics have placed Mr. Jordan in contention for the post that is second in line to the presidency, a notion that is mind-blowing to many establishment Republicans who have tracked his career.

That notion that he could go from legislative terrorist to speaker of the House is just insane, said Mike Ricci, a former aide to both Mr. Boehner and Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin. Jordan is an outsider, but hes very much done the work of an insider to get to this moment. Keeping that balance is what will determine whether he will win, and what kind of speaker he will be.

The race between Mr. Jordan, a populist who questions federal law enforcement and Americas funding of overseas wars, and Representative Steve Scalise, a staunch conservative and the No. 2 House Republican from Louisiana, continued to heat up on Friday. Both men worked the phones relentlessly seeking support, including making calls with freshman lawmakers, the Congressional Western Caucus and the Main Street Caucus, a group of business-oriented Republicans.

On Friday, as they were vying for support, a bloc of Republicans were quietly requesting a change to party rules that would raise the vote threshold for nominating a candidate for speaker, which would make it more difficult for Mr. Scalise to prevail.

While Mr. Scalise is amassing dozens of commitments of support, so is Mr. Jordan, which could lead to a bitter and potentially prolonged battle when Republicans meet behind closed doors this coming week to choose their nominee or spill into public disarray on the House floor.

On Saturday, a third possible contender, Representative Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, said he would not run and urged his Republican colleagues to unify behind either Mr. Scalise or Mr. Jordan.

Mr. Jordans rise in Congress to a position where he can credibly challenge Mr. Scalise, who has served in leadership for years, stems from a number of important alliances he has formed over the years. His strongest base of power is his colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus, many of whom consider him a mentor. He has built a solid relationship with Mr. McCarthy, for whom Mr. Jordan proved a reliable supporter and important validator on the right. And he has forged close ties with former President Donald J. Trump, perhaps his most important ally.

In a Republican House that has defined itself in large part by its determination to protect Mr. Trump and attack President Biden, Mr. Jordan has been a leader of both efforts. He leads a special subcommittee on the weaponization of government against conservatives. He has started investigations into federal and state prosecutors who indicted Mr. Trump, and he is a co-leader of the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden that Mr. McCarthy formally announced last month as he worked to appease the right and cling to his post. The weaponization subcommittee has spotlighted some examples of government overreach and the impeachment inquiry has produced unflattering information against President Bidens son Hunter, but neither has produced proof of Republicans boldest claims.

Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Jordan for the top House job early on Friday, ending speculation, however unrealistic, that the former president might seek the job himself. (A speaker is not required to be an elected lawmaker.)

Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., Mr. Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!

Mr. Trumps endorsement could help Mr. Jordan garner support from his other fellow House Republicans, among whom Mr. Trump is popular. But it is not expected to seal a victory.

Representative Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican who is the whip of the House Freedom Caucus and a supporter of Mr. Jordan, said Mr. Trumps endorsement was a positive for Mr. Jordan because Trump is widely viewed as the leader of our party.

But, he said, some more mainstream Republicans arent thrilled about aligning themselves with Mr. Trump.

There are some folks in moderate districts that are like, Well, that might actually complicate things for me, Mr. Davidson said.

Mr. Jordan helped undermine faith in the 2020 presidential election results as Mr. Trump spread the lie that the election had been stolen through widespread fraud. Mr. Jordan strategized with Mr. Trump about how to use Congresss official count of electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2021, to reject the results, voting to object even after a mob of Mr. Trumps supporters attacked the Capitol. His candidacy for speaker has drawn a stark warning from former Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who was the No. 3 Republican and vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee, who said that if he prevailed, there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected Republicans could be counted on to defend the Constitution.

In a speech at the University of Minnesota on Wednesday, Ms. Cheney told the audience that Jim Jordan was involved, was part of the conspiracy in which Donald Trump was engaged as he attempted to overturn the election.

Mr. Jordan has defended his actions in challenging the results of the 2020 election, saying he had a duty to object given the way some states changed voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic.

His quick rise in the Republican ranks was nearly derailed in 2018, when a sexual abuse scandal in Ohio State Universitys athletics program came to light, leading to accusations that Mr. Jordan, who had been an assistant wrestling coach at the time, knew about the abuse and did nothing. Mr. Jordan has said that he was not aware of any wrongdoing.

On Capitol Hill, Mr. Jordan initially worked to build some relationships with Democrats early in his career. He and Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, once teamed up on bipartisan legislation to protect press freedom. He counts former Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat from Ohio who is now running Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s presidential campaign, as a friend. Even as Mr. Jordan and Representative Elijah Cummings, the Maryland Democrat who died in 2019, sparred over investigations of Mr. Trump, the two men occasionally found common ground on other Oversight Committee issues.

But as Mr. Jordan formed an alliance with Mr. Trump and then became one of his most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill, his relationships with Democrats disintegrated. When Mr. Raskin introduced his press freedom bill this year, Mr. Jordan was no longer listed as a sponsor.

Representative Jim Banks, Republican of Indiana, said that Mr. Jordans true power lay in the love he commands from base voters, built up through years of defending Mr. Trump and advocating conservative policies on Fox News and in combative congressional hearings. Mr. Jordan is known to fly to districts around the country to help raise money for candidates who are aligned with the House Freedom Caucus and even for Republicans who are not.

Mr. Banks suggested that Mr. Jordans credibility with the right could make it easier for the party to unify behind any spending deal he were to cut with Democrats and the White House should he become speaker. Such a deal would be a tall order. Mr. Jordan voted a week ago against a measure to avoid a government shutdown an agreement with Democrats that ultimately drove Mr. McCarthy from the speakership.

Jim Jordan is a trusted conservative; hes well-respected by the base of the Republican Party, Mr. Banks said. So when we get to some of these tough spending fights and Speaker Jim Jordan is negotiating with the White House and the Senate, thats going to help Republicans rally behind him and get to a place where they can vote for those deals.

This is a different Republican Party today than what it was a decade ago, he added. And the Republican Party today is a lot more like Jim Jordan. Its more of a fighting Republican Party.

See more here:
From the Fringe to the Center of the G.O.P., Jordan Remains a Hard ... - The New York Times

Consider method first: For its operation, the Constitutions design presumes legislators who prize national interest over what James Madison called factious, local interest. Madison thought that national elections would refine and enlarge the quality of national representations in comparison to their local peers. To us, this seems optimistic at best. But politicians are not just the sum of the structural forces acting on them (gerrymandering, dark money, etc.). They have agency, and can make choices. Those on the hard right who precipitated McCarthys fall demonstrated an unblinking zealotry and contempt for their colleagues within and beyond the party in ways that exemplify the spirit Madison repudiated. It is a spirit, as McCarthy himself acknowledged in his resignation speech, sharply at odds with the Constitutions design.

And what of aims? The Framers conducted a Revolution in favor of government, to quote the historian Max Edling. They built a government that would work. While the outer contours of federal power have long been contested, the core aim of the Constitution to create a working state to meet the international and economic challenges of the day was never in doubt. Advocates of the hard-right project today deeply misunderstand the Framers here. In effect, they ignore the first four aims listed in the Constitution in favor of an emphasis on Liberty (for the select, right-thinking few, at least). Such selectivity is, in its own way, another profound repudiation of the Constitutions core.

Bill Scher is a contributing writer to Politico Magazine, the politics editor for the Washington Monthly and co-host of The DMZ, an online show and podcast with conservative writer Matt Lewis.

The problem is too many people think American politics is more broken than it is in reality.

In the past three years, broad coalitions have formed to invest in infrastructure, enhance gun safety, support semiconductor manufacturing, aid Ukraine and even shore up the finances of the United States Postal Service.

When Republicans took over the House and far-right nihilists agitated for an economically devastating default on the federal governments debt obligations, a robust bipartisan majority embraced the budget deal that averted a crisis. Just last week, despite lingering disagreements about spending levels, border security and Ukraine, a similar bipartisan coalition made sure the federal government would not shut down.

And yet, a small number of Republican ideologues and gadflies refused to accept that now-former Speaker Kevin McCarthy had restrained spending as much as politically possible. Meanwhile, as they watched McCarthy strain to maintain Republican unity, House Democrats did not trust him to stick with the spending levels set in the debt limit deal, or continue to keep the government open. The speakers chair is vacant because of the mistrust and misaligned expectations of these two groups.

Finding common ground in an evenly divided country will always be challenging. But leaders in both parties have been picking their spots and finding pathways to success. American politics wasnt broken. Until Tuesday.

Norman Ornstein is an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

It has been clear for some years that what is broken in American politics is the Republican Party. The roots go back for decades starting with Newt Gingrichs arrival in the House in 1979. But the current chaos was triggered, ironically, by the self-proclaimed Young Guns Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy when they went around the country in 2009 recruiting tea party radicals, exploiting their anger after the financial collapse and the backlash against Barack Obama, promising to blow up the establishment in Washington with the hopes that they could use that anger to catapult themselves into the majority. Their expectation was that once these tea party radicals were in the House, they could co-opt them. Instead, of course, they were co-opted. John Boehner was the first victim of the Young Guns, but now all three of the Guns have been shot down by their own gang. Cantor lost his seat to a tea party radical; Ryan suffered the same fate as speaker as John Boehner, forced to leave by the radical right. And now McCarthy, the last one standing, has been taken out by the same forces in an even more dramatic manner.

Read the original:
'What Is Broken in American Politics Is the Republican Party' - POLITICO

Orion Donovan Smith / The Spokesman-Review (TNS)

WASHINGTON When House Republicans brought Congress within hours of a government shutdown at the end of September and when a handful of those GOP lawmakers succeeded in ousting Kevin McCarthy as speaker days later they cited the same motive: reducing a federal budget deficit that has pushed the nation's debt above $33 trillion.

Many Democrats agree that the deficit the annual amount the government spends above revenue from taxes and other sources is a problem. But in an era of intense partisan division, optimism that the parties can work together to solve it is in short supply.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will average $2 trillion a year over the next decade.

"It's a mind-boggling number, and one that will take decades of concerted work by Congress to get down to more healthy levels," said Andrew Lautz, a senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank dedicated to forging consensus between Republicans and Democrats. "And of course, we're not seeing that level of bipartisan interest and cooperation in Congress."

In an interview Sept. 29, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, voiced the perspective of most Republicans at the Capitol, who favor cuts to federal spending and oppose any tax increases.

"Part of the reason that we find ourselves in this situation is because of continuing to spend and add to the debt," McMorris Rodgers said, referring to a potential shutdown that looms again in mid-November. "We need to address the spending and the debt in this nation."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, takes the opposite view. In an interview Sept. 19, the Seattle Democrat resisted the idea that the deficit is a problem and said Congress should be spending more on social programs while raising taxes on large corporations and the ultra-wealthy to increase revenue.

"We should actually be increasing our spending on the investment side," Jayapal said, arguing that spending on things like health care and child care would improve lives and spur economic growth that could strengthen the economy in the long run. "I would be happy to talk about the deficit, as long as we're talking about the revenue side."

More moderate Democrats say they are concerned about the deficit and debt, while pointing out that Republicans have been willing to run up deficits to finance tax cuts, suggesting GOP hand-wringing about the debt is less than sincere or at least takes a back seat to political expediency when Republicans are in power.

"We need to bring down the deficit, especially in times when we are economically doing well, but I think that it happens with a responsible balance of revenue and spending changes," Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Sammamish, said Sept. 19.

Schrier pointed out that Republicans want to renew the 2017 tax cuts they passed in the first year of Donald Trump's presidency, which included tax relief for corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The Congressional Budget Office, projects that renewing those cuts when they expire in 2025 would increase deficits by $3.5 trillion.

"That really belies this notion that it's the deficit they're worried about," Schrier said of Republicans.

Another problem, Lautz said, is that the perennial budget fights in Congress focus on just a fraction of the government's total spending. In fiscal year 2022, a little more than a quarter of the budget went to discretionary spending, which lawmakers must approve each year through the appropriations process. Nearly half of that spending is on defense, which has increased each year since 2015 without much opposition from either party.

"Nobody's concerned about the deficit when it comes to spending even more on the Pentagon," Jayapal said. "I just think that the way that we talk about the deficit is completely backwards, and what we need to do is think about investment in people. And then if we want to raise revenue, think about making the tax system fairer."

Roughly two-thirds of the budget is dedicated to mandatory spending on programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which is essentially on autopilot unless Congress acts to change course. That means the noisy spending fights that routinely threaten government shutdowns revolve around small portions of the budget that couldn't solve the debt problem on their own.

The U.S. government has borrowed money since its inception and regularly incurs more debt by selling securities through the Treasury. About two-thirds of that debt is held by people and institutions in the United States, with the Federal Reserve accounting for the biggest chunk, according to Treasury Department data. The other third is held by foreign creditors, led by Japan.

Ryan Herzog, an associate professor of economics at Gonzaga University, said it's important to understand that not all debt is bad. Like a household, borrowing money can allow the government to make investments that pay off in the long run.

But while politicians often compare the nation's debt to a household budget, Herzog said that analogy only goes so far. While people typically earn money in the middle of their lives to save for retirement, that's not the case with a government.

"The government lives forever at least we hope it does so it's not like your typical household budget," he said. "It's OK to have debt. We need to just be mindful of what that debt is, and the cost of carrying that over a long period of time."

More important than the total debt number, Herzog said, is the ratio of debt to income, measured by the country's gross domestic product. By that metric, the debt peaked at 133% of GDP in 2020, when the Trump administration borrowed huge sums for pandemic relief programs, but debt is still about 119% of GDP today, according to Federal Reserve data.

At the turn of the 21st century, the U.S. government actually had a budget surplus, but a series of events and policy decisions starting in 2001 changed that trajectory. The 9/11 terror attacks spurred a major increase in spending on the military, which the administration of President George W. Bush funded by borrowing money while cutting taxes. The Bush-era tax cuts were extended under President Barack Obama, while spending on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continued.

The financial crisis that began in 2007 prompted the Obama administration and Congress to borrow more money for an economic rescue package in 2009, while the ensuing recession lowered revenues. The Trump administration increased deficits to fund tax cuts and pay for pandemic relief.

"Neither party is exclusively responsible for the run-up in debt and deficits that we've seen in the 21st century," Lautz said. "Both parties share some of the blame, and both parties need to work together on long-term solutions."

William Gale, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a partnership between two nonpartisan think tanks, said part of the problem is that elected officials seldom make the politically tough choices raising taxes and cutting spending on popular programs that could reduce deficits.

"In the long term, obviously there has to be a reckoning, because we're on a path that doesn't make sense, that's not sustainable," he said. "But in the short term, we have plenty of latitude."

For example, Gale said, the Congressional Budget Office projects the trust funds that support Social Security benefits will run dry in a decade. But Congress could fund Social Security with general revenues, even if that hurts future generations.

"It's always something that can be pushed off," he said. "It's hard to find a real back-to-the-wall moment."

Gale said he sees two options to overcome the short-term political calculations that make the debt problem seemingly unsolvable: a bipartisan commission of serious lawmakers who can share responsibility for unpopular choices, or a president who uses the bully pulpit to rally the nation behind those necessary steps to improve Americans' collective economic future.

In response to a question from The Spokesman-Review on Oct. 2, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said reducing the deficit is a priority for Biden, whose legislative accomplishments include funding intended to help the Internal Revenue Service crack down on tax dodging by corporations and the rich. The deal Biden struck with McCarthy in May to raise the debt limit would lower deficits by $1.5 trillion by 2033, the Congressional Budget Office projects.

"Clearly, this is a president that wants to focus on lowering the deficit," Jean-Pierre said. "This is something that you hear him talk about almost every time he talks about the economy."

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Prez, a Democrat who represents southwest Washington, said Sept. 29 she wants to see a bipartisan commission to address budget deficits with a combination of spending cuts and higher taxes on the biggest corporations and richest Americans, who pay far lower tax rates today than they did in decades past.

McMorris Rodgers said the idea of a bipartisan budget commission has been discussed among House Republicans. Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and led bipartisan budget negotiations that resulted in a 2013 deal, said Sept. 29 that such a process hadn't been formally raised as part of talks to avert a shutdown.

"I can tell you, after years of experience, words on a paper matter when you talk about something like that how much power they have, who's on it, how it's going to be decided, what the implementation is," Murray said. "I have not seen any of that language, and that's critical."

In remarks at the University of Wisconsin on Sept. 26, former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who was Murray's GOP counterpart in negotiations a decade ago, said he had little hope that lawmakers could fix the nation's debt problem anytime soon.

"We're going to have to rethink how we do our fiscal policy in the 21st century, so that we can have a good 21st century, so that we can stave off a debt crisis," Ryan said. "Our politics are so unserious right now that those kinds of comprehensive solutions aren't in the offing."

The rest is here:
Democrats and Republicans in Washington state agree the nation's ... - Centralia Chronicle

What a year this week has been! This time last week, the government looked poised to shut down indefinitely. In (almost literally) the 11th hour, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) brought a clean temporary funding bill to the House floor, where it passed with more Democratic support than Republican. Three days later, he was gone, deposed by an antagonistic faction in his own party and Democrats who have long mistrusted him.

As the aftershocks of his historic ouster continue to reverberate around the Capitol, we ask one of our favorite questions: What does this mean for Nevada?

A good friend or worthless?

A prolific fundraiser and architect of House Republican ambitions, McCarthys hometown of Bakersfield is less than a four-hour drive from the Nevada border.

Last cycle, the then-minority leader made several swings through Nevada on the campaign trail. McCarthy appeared at an August veterans roundtable in Henderson with Mark Robertson, the Republican candidate in District 1, and Sam Peters, the Republican challenger in District 4. Congressional Leadership Fund, the Super PAC aligned with McCarthy, cut ads for Robertson and District 3 GOP candidate April Becker.

While House Democrats have maintained significant fundraising advantages over House Republicans in recent cycles, the McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund would typically help close the advertising gap for Nevada candidates. Last cycle, CLF spent $16 million on Robertson and Becker through the end of October. Of the more than $180 million McCarthys super PAC spent in 2022, those two Nevada districts were targeted more than any other district in the country.

Tell me who's going to be able to match that, because nobody's gonna be able to match it, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) said about the former speakers fundraising in an interview Tuesday. That's taking nothing away from Steve [Scalise] or Tom Emmer. But [hes] been in Republican leadership since before I got here, and worked [his] way up, and paid [his] dues.

But for all of his spending and attention, McCarthy was not able to flip any Nevada House seats since his ascent to minority leader in 2019, following former Speaker Paul Ryans (R-WI) retirement. While his support and resources made Amodei a fan, McCarthy has had his share of detractors, from the hardline forces that brought him down to others who felt like he did not try hard enough in the Silver State.

And McCarthy had already begun to influence primaries in the 2024 cycle, endorsing District 3 candidate Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) in fact, the most recent tweet from his personal account is a retweet of that endorsement.

McCarthy was also a reliable attendee at the Republican Jewish Coalitions annual Las Vegas retreat, seeking to take advantage of the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelsons deep pockets and getting $3 million for House Republican candidates from the group last cycle. Speaking in Las Vegas at the retreat last November, he told the group he would remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from her spot on the Foreign Affairs Committee over her attacks on the pro-Israel lobby, and followed through.

He also served as a pinch hitter for former Attorney General Adam Laxalts annual Basque Fry in 2017, after scheduled headliners (Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)) canceled in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

Kevin McCarthy has been a good friend to Nevada, in the 11 years I've been here, Amodei told me in December, a sentiment he echoed after the speaker was deposed. He's always had an open door.

Amy Tarkanian, a former state GOP chair whose husband ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd District in 2018 and challenged Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) in 2022, said Republican House candidates in Nevada should expect to face valid attacks of being unable to govern in the wake of McCarthys ouster.

McCarthy supported Tarkanian in 2018, but helped Amodei in 2022. She downplayed his importance.

McCarthy's worthless, she said. McCarthy hosted a fundraiser in D.C. [for Danny in 2018], but he didn't lift a finger. He basically just and that's what he was really good at with candidates he just slapped his name on an event.

Of the candidates for the speakership, she said she thought Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), a powerful fundraiser in his own right, would be able to pick up the mantle with Las Vegas donor class, and added that the Louisianian hosted a fundraiser and spoke at an event for her husband in 2018.

Jeremy Hughes, a Republican strategist who served as Pacific regional director for Donald Trumps 2020 re-election campaign, agreed that it would come down to messaging, though he thinks other issues favor Republicans regardless of whos in the speakers chair.

Of course its meaningful, because former Speaker McCarthy is a known commodity, he said over text. But the next speaker knows this and will work overtime to ensure the funds are there.

Around the Capitol

Notable and Quotable:

To be honest with you I don't think there's anybody. There's not an appreciation for how hard that job has gotten.

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), on if anyone can unite House Republicans as their next speaker

Legislative Tracker

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

Legislation sponsored:

S.Con.Res.21 A concurrent resolution recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to Latina women in comparison to men.

S.3022 A bill to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to allow Indian Health Service scholarship and loan recipients to fulfill service obligations through half-time clinical practice, and for other purposes.

Legislation co-sponsored:

S.Res.394 A resolution honoring the life of James L. Buckley, former senator for the state of New York.

S.3008 A bill to provide back pay to federal contractors, and for other purposes.

S.Res.400 A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Dianne Feinstein, the late senator for the state of California.

S.Res.404 A resolution designating Oct. 4, 2023, as "Energy Efficiency Day" in celebration of the economic and environmental benefits that have been driven by private sector innovation and federal energy efficiency policies.

JACKY ROSEN

Legislation co-sponsored:

S.Res.394 A resolution honoring the life of James L. Buckley, former senator for the state of New York.

S.Res.400 A resolution honoring the life and legacy of Dianne Feinstein, the late senator for the state of California.

S.Con.Res.21 A concurrent resolution recognizing the significance of equal pay and the disparity in wages paid to Latina women in comparison to men.

DINA TITUS

Legislation sponsored:

H.R.5872 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to postpone tax deadlines and reimburse paid late fees for United States nationals who are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, and for other purposes.

Legislation co-sponsored:

H.R.5871 To enhance safety requirements for trains, and for other purposes.

STEVEN HORSFORD

Legislation co-sponsored:

H.R.5876 To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide funding to sustain and increase the supply and quality of child care, access to child care, and the child care workforce, and for other purposes.

Go here to see the original:
From 'worthless' to 'good friend', Nevada Republicans reflect on ... - The Nevada Independent

To the Editor:

Re My Fellow Republicans Need to Grow Up, by Bob Inglis (Opinion guest essay, Oct. 3):

We are divided not by ideology but by a deep lack of willingness to consider ideas before party alliances.

I wasnt paying attention to politics until 2015. But Donald Trump was so outrageous I was shocked into political activism. I speak out often because silence is not an option.

The MAGA followers I encounter on internet political sites call me Communist, Marxist, treasonous and fascist. I find their attitudes loathsome. I blame Mr. Trumps constant attacks on anyone who speaks out against him his most virulent and nasty attacks being against Democrats. We have become deeply divided because Mr. Trump models divisive behavior. I fear for our Republic.

But, if I am honest, it is Mr. Trump who has taught me something vital. I must be careful of rejecting someone just because they are on the other side. At least I must be able to define our differences and find our similarities. As a result I may expand my point of view to be richer, more inclusive and balanced. And that is what our system of debate and compromise demands.

Jo Trafford Portland, Maine

To the Editor:

I appreciate Bob Ingliss call for Republicans to stop with the mindless vilifying of their Democratic colleagues (and with them the millions of Americans who voted for them), and start engaging on substantive issues that really matter.

Elected Republicans prioritize demonizing and scapegoating and temper tantrums over concern for the challenges of the lived lives of their constituents. Those challenges are shared, to varying degrees, by most Americans. Look for legislative common ground there.

When elected Republicans at all levels of government start noticing the specifics of their constituents suffering, and then start using their offices to do something about it thats when well know theyve really grown up.

Jeri Zeder Lexington, Mass.

To the Editor:

In Giulianis Drinking Is Subplot in Trump Inquiry (front page, Oct. 5), I was quoted as saying:

Its no secret, nor do I do him any favors if I dont mention that problem, because he has it. Its actually one of the saddest things I can think about in politics.

While I dont deny the quote Rudy Giuliani had a drinking problem that he has dealt with, and I believe he is no longer drinking I also said a lot of good things about Rudy.

He was one of our greatest mayors. He cleaned New York City up and made it livable. He was a national hero during 9/11, when the country needed leadership. He was Americas Mayor and beloved by many.

We should also not forget that he was a great U.S. attorney for the Southern District and prosecuted many people who committed heinous crimes.

I have the greatest respect and empathy for this man, who did so much good.

Andrew Stein New York The writer is a former president of the New York City Council.

To the Editor:

Re Prozac Nation, Meet Lexapro Sweatshirts (Style, nytimes.com, Oct. 2):

I cringed when I read this article about using the names of antidepressants on shirts. I personally think it trivializes the seriousness of depression. Having suffered from manic depression for 50 years now, I dont see that as reducing the stigma of mental illness. It reflects privilege if anything.

Too many moan about being depressed or anxious, but some of us are battling a chronic illness. And we see no point in publicizing our conditions. We are too busy taking care of ourselves.

Nancy C. Langwiser-Kear Wellesley, Mass.

Here is the original post:
Opinion | Closing the Political Divide: Compromise, Don't Demonize - The New York Times