To the editor: The GOP is a minority party that now controls the three branches of our government. How did this happen? (“Trump is transforming the GOP against legal immigration. Will Congress follow?” Jan. 12) After the 2012 election, the Republican Party issued an “autopsy” that, among other things, cited immigration reform: “Among the steps Republicans take in the Hispanic community and beyond, we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only. We also believe that comprehensive immigration reform is consistent with Republican economic policies that promote job growth and opportunity for all.” Republicans have apparently repudiated that support for immigration reform and found a way to succeed with their core constituencies. Rather than becoming inclusive, Republicans try to restrict the ability of Democratic voters to cast their ballots. … [Read more...] about The GOP hardliners’ stance on DACA is the act of a dying political party
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GOP senator says Va. Democrats threatening to kill or delay hospital bill unless he backs Medicaid
RICHMOND — A Republican state senator said Democrats were trying to “strong arm” him into supporting Medicaid expansion by killing a bill intended to help a shuttered hospital in his poor Southwest Virginia district. The allegation promises to inflame tensions just as the bipartisan honeymoon for newly inaugurated Gov. Ralph Northam (D) seemed to be drawing to an abrupt end. Republican legislators killed off a slew of gun-control bills backed by the governor on Monday. And Northam irked them hours later in formal speech that GOP legislators called overly partisan. House and Senate Republicans called a new conference Tuesday morning to continuing voicing their complaints about the speech. [Gov. Northam spends first workday watching GOP decimate Democratic bills] The Democrats’ allegedly hardball approach could also signal how vigorously they intend to fight for expansion, a top priority for Northam, as it had been for his predecessor, former governor Terry … [Read more...] about GOP senator says Va. Democrats threatening to kill or delay hospital bill unless he backs Medicaid
Letter: Is DACA dead? Obama’s derailed presidency? Ask the GOP
Two items that have appeared in the news and letters to the editor over the last ten days caught my attention. If President Obama did not do anything positive for the country during his terms, then he had the help of the Republican Congress. Remember that the GOP goal was to ensure that President Obama was not successful. If DACA is dead, let’s put the blame where it rightfully belongs — with the Republicans and Trump. When one party controls both congressional houses and the presidency, they can do almost anything they want. The GOP has the votes and pen to deal with DACA in whatever way they please. One of the issues the GOP faces is that what they may want to do will not be popular with those outside their base and that base is not expanding. The GOP needs to own up to its responsibility, believe me! Craig Whaley Northwest side Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star. … [Read more...] about Letter: Is DACA dead? Obama’s derailed presidency? Ask the GOP
GOP scrambles to avoid a government shutdown
By Bloomberg News | PUBLISHED: January 16, 2018 at 10:32 am | UPDATED: January 16, 2018 at 10:48 am By Laura Litvan and Anna Edgerton | Bloomberg News Republican congressional leaders are struggling to separate the immigration blow-up set off by President Donald Trump from a funding bill to avert a U.S. government shutdown at the end of this week. Democrats say the burden is on Trump to help break the stalemate after he rejected a bipartisan proposal to shield young, undocumented immigrants from deportation and ignited outrage by reportedly disparaging Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries.” Democrats want to attach such an immigration measure to the must-pass spending bill, an idea House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., reject. “No, we’re not going to do that,” Ryan said Friday during an event in his home state of Wisconsin. “People are attaching these as far as leverage is … [Read more...] about GOP scrambles to avoid a government shutdown
GOP cuts into Democrats’ advantage among Nevada voters
Adam Kerrigan, a volunteer poll observer, looks over the voter register at the Durango Hills YMCA, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. Poll observers watch to make sure no irregularities occur at the polls. (Jerry Henkel/Las Vegas Review-Journal) RENO — Republicans made some inroads into Democrats’ voter registration edge in Nevada last year but Democrats still hold a significant advantage of more than 76,000 active voters. Democrats led by more than 97,000 registered voters last January, with about 595,000 to the GOP’s 498,000. But end-of-year numbers posted by the Secretary of State’s Office show that as of Jan. 1, the advantage has shrunk to about 76,000 — or 565,904 Democrats and 489,674 Republicans. The total number of active registered voters statewide dipped from 1.5 million in January 2017 to 1.46 million last month as Nevada gears up for a key off-year election. U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is trying to fend off a GOP primary challenge from Danny … [Read more...] about GOP cuts into Democrats’ advantage among Nevada voters