Archive for the ‘Democrat’ Category

What The Democrat Party Is Doing To Derrick Edwards Is Shameful – The Hayride

In case you havent heard, the leader in every poll for the Treasurers race this fall is a Democrat despite the fact the three major candidates in the race are Republicans. Derrick Edwards, a lawyer from New Orleans whose interesting physical condition hes a quadriplegic is a frequent candidate for office who ran last year for the Senate, polling three percent of the vote in the primary and finishing in eighth place. Now hes in first place and a fairly likely participant in the runoff; what we dont know at this point is whether it will be Rep. John Schroder, Sen. Neil Riser or former Jindal administration Commissioner of Administration Angele Davis wholl be in the final round with him.

Almost everybody who knows something about that race will tell you once Edwards gets into the runoff with whichever Republican joins him, hes got zero chance to win. But in that respect hes no different than Foster Campbell in the 2016 Senate race, or Kip Holden in the 2015 Lt. Governors race, or even Edwin Edwards in the 2014 6th District congressional race. They all got slaughtered in the runoff and the Democrats knew it, and backed them anyway.

But the Democrats arent backing Edwards in this race even though hes leading every poll with at least 25 percent of the vote.

Why?

(T)he Democratic Partys executive committee worries about how Edwards would get from 30 percent of the vote to the 50 percent plus one needed to win a runoff from an electorate who overwhelming backs Republicans in most statewide elections.

Though Edwards was the first announced candidate in the race, he hasnt been campaigning much. He reported $138.20 available in a campaign finance report filed Aug. 8. Plus, because he was late filing, Edwards could face $2,000 in fines from the Louisiana Board of Ethics.

We were uncomfortable with the fact that he was a little late, at that time, filing his financial disclosure and campaign finance forms, said Kyle Green Jr., a state party executive committee member from Marrero. We urged him to get his house in order and once he did that, we would be happy to revisit that decision.

The 25-member party executive committee decided to hold off until Edwards could name a campaign team, detail fundraising plans, and identify major supporters.

The executive committee felt rather strongly that Mr. Edwards needs to do some basic things before recommending him for a party endorsement, said Stephen Handwerk, executive director of the Louisiana Democratic Party.

One wonders if this is a racial thing, which youd think shouldnt be a problem for a party who would have virtually zero political presence in Louisiana but for black voters and black elected officials. Still, the Democrats have a history of failing to give much help to black candidates for statewide office they let Cleo Fields and Bill Jefferson die on the vine in the 1995 and 1999 runoffs, and they did exactly nothing to help Holden last year.

With a black state senator in Karen Carter Peterson, who as it happens is also from New Orleans, as the Democrat party chair, youd think this lack of support wouldnt continue.

But it does. Theyre going to let the only Democrat candidate they have in the only statewide race going on this year go without any money or an endorsement? And hes not only a candidate of color but a disabled candidate as well?

How can this be? How can a party which breaks its arm patting itself on the back for how much it supposedly cares about minorities and people with disabilities simply let Derrick Edwards die on the political vine?

Sure, Edwards has no shot to win. Foster Campbell had no shot to win. That didnt stop them from pitching in and raising every dime they could for him. And if he has no shot to win and cant do all the basic things a candidate needs to do to have a shot to win, then why in the hell couldnt the Louisiana Democrat Party recruit somebody more legitimate to run in an open seat?

None of their grandees, like for example Rep. Walt Leger or Sen. Eric Lafleur, bothered to qualify. This guy did, and he put a D next to his name. And theyre snubbing him anyway. No union money, no party money, not even a little check from one of their trial lawyer donors to get him started.

Its embarrassing. This is not a party that deserves to win a major election in this state, ever again.

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What The Democrat Party Is Doing To Derrick Edwards Is Shameful - The Hayride

House Democrat seeks to prohibit federal spending at Trump businesses – The Hill (blog)

A Democrats proposed amendments to an upcoming federal spending package on the House floor would prohibit taxpayer funds from being used at businesses owned by President Trump.

The House is expected to consider a spending package providing funds for multiple agencies during the first week of September, ahead of a deadline at the end of the month to avoid a government shutdown.

Rep. Steve Cohens (D-Tenn.) amendments to the legislation would ban the use of federal spending at Trump-owned hotels, resorts, golf clubs or any other businesses listed in the presidents financial disclosure form.

Congress should not allow the President to use his office to profit himself and his family, Cohen said in a statement. The Presidents refusal to divest from his privately owned businesses creates a conflict of interest when steering federal spending to his resorts and other businesses.

Trump has spent almost every weekend since taking office in January at his family-owned properties, including his Northern Virginia golf course located roughly an hour from the White House, his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.

The Washington Post reportedin July that the State Department spent more than $15,000 to book rooms at the Trump hotel in Vancouver when members of the president'sfamily attended its grand opening in February.

The spending package slated for House consideration in September includes funding for the departments of Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and State.

The House previouslypassed a national-security themed spending billin July that included $1.6 billion to start building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a top priority for Trump.

Cohen, as well as Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), submitted similar amendments to prevent taxpayer funds from going to Trump properties to the spending bill in July.

But House GOP leaders, who want to avoid forcing their members to take tough votes relating to Trump, did not allow floor votes on any of those amendments.

Cohen faces a long shot in securing votes on his amendments in September as well.

The Tennessee liberalannouncedlast week that he willfile articles of impeachmentagainst Trump over his response to the violence stemming from a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Va. Trump has blamed both hate groups and counterprotesters for the violence.

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House Democrat seeks to prohibit federal spending at Trump businesses - The Hill (blog)

Jared Golden, a leading Democrat in Maine House, announces run … – Press Herald

LEWISTON Jared Golden, a Democratic state lawmaker and Marine combat veteran, announced Thursday that he is entering the 2018 race for the U.S. House, challenging incumbent 2nd District Rep. Bruce Poliquin, a Republican.

Golden, 35, served tours with the U.S. Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan before returning home to Maine, where he earned a bachelors degree at Bates College in Lewiston. He is the Democratic assistant majority leader in the Maine House of Representatives.

Golden is the fifth and, so far, most prominent Democrat to enter the race against Poliquin, who is serving his second term in Congress. Poliquin easily defeated his last challenger, Emily Cain, a former Democratic state lawmaker from Orono, in 2016.

Other Democrats who have announced a bid for the seat include Jonathan Fulford, owner of a construction business in Monroe; Tim Rich, a restaurant owner in Bar Harbor; Phil Cleaves, a Dexter mail carrier; and Craig Olson, an antique book dealer on Islesboro. Voters will select the partys candidate during a primary next June.

After studying at Bates, Golden said he returned to the war-torn countries where he fought, first volunteering as a teacher in Afghanistan and later working for a logistics company in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He then worked in Congress for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as part of the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Golden, now serving his second term as the state representative for Maine House District 60, grew up in Leeds and lives in Lewiston with his wife, Isobel, who serves on the Lewiston City Council.

On Thursday, Golden questioned Poliquins record of protecting Maine jobs and took aim at him for supporting a recently failed effort by Republicans in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Everyone knows Congress must fix Obamacare to increase coverage and lower costs, but instead Bruce Poliquin voted to take coverage away from millions of Americans, Golden said.

Poliquins political adviser, the Maine Republican Party and the National Rifle Association all quickly issued statements criticizing Golden, a sure sign that he is seen as a credible challenger to the incumbents bid for a third term.

Young Jared Golden looks good on the surface, but diving deeper you find an extreme Augusta liberal politician, said Brent Littlefield, Poliquins political adviser.

Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage said Goldens assertions that Poliquin hasnt done much to secure jobs for Mainers are simply out of touch and not true, and that Poliquin had opposed Republican leaders in Congress to vote against trade policy changes that would hurt Maine.

The NRAs national spokesman, Lars Dalseid, said Golden opposed legislation that removed concealed-handgun permit requirements in Maine and supported legislation requiring a federal background check for private firearms sales in Maine.

His votes to deny Maine residents their constitutional right to self-protection and punish law-abiding gun owners for the criminal actions of others are just two of the many reasons why voters should reject his run for the U.S. Congress, Dalseid said.

Golden said none of the votes in question reduced the rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns. I dont want to take anyones guns away unless they are not legally allowed to possess them, he said. I would like to go shooting with Bruce Poliquin sometime and see who knows their way around an AR-15 assault rifle better.

Golden said the early attacks out of Washington are what he expected.

This is classic Bruce Poliquin, he said. All of his D.C. buddies in Washington, D.C., have been preparing for weeks now, figuring out how they were going to take a swing at a Marine because Bruce Poliquin is unwilling to do it himself.

As a state legislator, Golden has served on both the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee and the Transportation Committee, developing a reputation as an advocate for veterans, immigrants and infrastructure improvement. He helped pass bills that expanded the capacity of the states Bureau of Veterans Services and provided free tuition for members of the National Guard at the University of Maine System campuses and the states community college system.

Golden joined the Marine Corps in 2002 while attending college at the University of Maine-Farmington, serving four years on active duty. He said his experiences while growing up and working on his familys Springbrook Golf Course, where he still works as greenskeeper in the summer, guided him during his military service.

Each Marine is expected to carry their own weight, to watch each others backs and to work as part of a team to get the job done, he said.

Scott Thistle can be contacted at 791-6330 or at:

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Twitter: thisdog

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Jared Golden, a leading Democrat in Maine House, announces run ... - Press Herald

Virginia GOP deletes Confederate ‘heritage’ tweet criticizing Democrat – CNN International

Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who won his party's gubernatorial primary, has called for monuments lionizing the Confederacy to come down, and in response, the Virginia GOP fired off a pair of tweets Wednesday that generated ire online.

The party wrote: ".@RalphNortham has turned his back on his own family's heritage in demanding monument removal (1/2)" and "Shows @RalphNortham will do anything or say anything to try and be #VAGov - #Pathetic 2/2"

Northam responded to Wednesday's tweets and turned the conversation to his Republican opponent Ed Gillespie.

"I feel fine about turning my back on white supremacy. How does @EdWGillespie feel about the president's position?"

The state party deleted its tweets and issued a new one apologizing and saying the messages had been interpreted incorrectly.

David Abrams, a spokesperson for the Gillespie campaign, said in a statement the party was right to apologize for the tweets and take them down.

"Though Ed disagrees with the Lieutenant Governor on the issue of statues, he knows we can disagree on issues like this without devolving into divisive rhetoric," the statement said.

"We said that Ralph Northam is turning his back on his heritage and family," Findlay told the Post. "It is because his great-grandfather fought for the side of the Confederacy and was wounded during the Civil War."

The debate over what to do with Confederate monuments has gripped much of the nation, with President Donald Trump responding to racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in part by defending the monuments.

Northam has said the statues should come down and tried to tie Gillespie to Trump, while Gillespie has said the statues should stay.

CNN's Donald Judd contributed to this report.

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Virginia GOP deletes Confederate 'heritage' tweet criticizing Democrat - CNN International

A Republican, Democrat, and Independent Smoke Weed Together – Green Rush Daily

In WatchCut Videos latest YouTube post, a republican, democrat, and independent smoke weed together. You may have some preconceived notions about these three representatives from three very different groups. But the conversations that they have before and during their smoke sesh prove one thing: were all human, and we all want the best for our country. And we all love smoking weed.

Youtube

WatchCut has been posting a lot of videos featuring people smoking weed. These people come from all walks of life and are typically smoking together for the first time.

Theyve posted former cops smoking weed, people getting high with their grandparents, and others lighting up with their parents. They even filmed Aubrey Plaza toking up with the infamous weed nuns.

The newest video that theyve posted seems like it would be rife with controversy. The content creators at WatchCut put a Republican, a Democrat, and an Independent in a room together and provided them with weed.

All three admitted to being well-acquaintedwith the plant. Before toking up, the Democrat and the Republican, both young women, predictably argued about people taking offense at Donald Trumps callous and inflammatory statements.

Their smoke sesh started with joint, lit by the independent. During the first ten minutes, the Democrat and the Republican continued to argue back and forth.

Neither of them seemed to be able to see eye to eye due to the fundamental differences between the ideologies.

However, further into the session, when all three were getting progressively more stoned, they found that they could all agree on one thing: no one liked Trump.

And another interesting tidbit that came out during the video: neither the Republicannor the Democrat voted this election. The Independent wrote in Bernie Sanders on his ballot.

By the end of the smoke session, all three individuals maintained their original political views. But they were all able to see each other as complete human beings with complex lives and experiences that have shaped them.

The video ends with the Republican singing the national anthem with the other two hitting a bong and coughing in the background.

Maybe its a stretch to say that weed can bring everyoneDemocrats, Republicans, and Independentstogether. But it can certainly help.

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A Republican, Democrat, and Independent Smoke Weed Together - Green Rush Daily