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Rep. Dean Phillips said hes gathered a group of around 33 Democrats to sign on to the idea that Rep. Justin Amash help make the case for impeachment.

Should Rep. Justin Amash, the Republican-turned-Independent from Michigan, help make the case for impeaching the President? Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnetonka said that when the idea struck him on Friday evening, he reached out to his close confidants first, and then asked more of his colleagues.

As first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, Phillips said hes gathered a group of around 33 Democrats to sign on to the idea that Amash help make the case for impeachment. He would be a terrific member of the management team if indeed articles are forwarded to the Senate for a trial, Phillips told MinnPost.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will select members to represent Houses case for impeachment during the Senate trial, called impeachment managers, that will serve as a sort of team of prosecutors. Reps. Adam Schiff of California and Jared Nadler of New York, the two committee chairs running impeachment so far, are almost certain to be chosen. But the other three slots committee could be competitive, as several members are asking for a slot, including Rep. Stacey Plaskett, a delegate to Congress representing the U.S. Virgin Islands.

But Phillips believes someone like Amash, a Tea Party libertarian, is needed to demonstrate the case that impeachment isnt about partisanship.

Phillips, a moderate Democrat and a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus, said he has already spoken with Amash and that the Michigan congressman was humbled and I think surprised.

I didnt want to float the idea to our whole Democratic freshman class without at least that he would be interested and thats exactly what I did, he said. And weve been corresponding since.

When asked which members have signed onto the idea, Phillips said he has 33 strong affirmative yes statements on the idea from members, but hed rather not say who. Im not going to divulge names, Phillips said. I think thats up to individuals to do so.

At least one Democrat, Rep. Max Rose of New York, told MinnPost that he is supportive of the effort.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Phillips believes someone like Rep. Justin Amash, a Tea Party libertarian, is needed to demonstrate the case that impeachment isnt about partisanship.

As others have suggested, Rep. Amash should be one of the impeachment managers for the Senate trial, Kevin Kruse, a historian of American History, said on Twitter. Michelle Goldberg, a New York Times columnists that leans significantly to the left of most of her colleagues, said on Twitter: Democrats should choose Amash as one of their impeachment managers. And Charlie Sykes, editor of the conservative (but Never-Trump website) The Bulwark, called the suggestion a Good idea.

Amash told HuffPosts Matt Fuller that he has so far not been approached by Pelosi about the idea, but would have the conversation.

House Democrats plan to vote on impeachment on Wednesday. If they are approved, articles of impeachment will be forwarded to the Senate for a trial, which will be presided over by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Phillips said he fully intends to vote for articles of impeachment, come tomorrow.

In fact, you know, [Ive been] using language similar to Rep. Amash, which is that our responsibility is not to try or convict or acquit, Phillips said.

Our responsibility is analogous to a grand jury to assess the evidence and determine if it warrants a trial.

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What's behind Rep. Dean Phillips' push to get Rep. Justin Amash on the impeachment team - MinnPost

Hundreds of Californians have discovered they are no longer registered with their preferred political party.

Election officials are encouraging voters to check their voter registration status.

They say the Department of Motor Vehicles automated registrations program could be to blame for the mix-up.

The mix-up means many voters are now registered as "no party preference" voters.

For primary elections, voters have to be registered with the preferred party in order to vote their party's ballot.

"We encourage voters to go ahead and double check that record and if there is a problem- if they wanted to change their party affiliation then we can do so. We can rectify these situations for voters... there is enough time to be able to update their record," said Tommy Gong, San Luis Obispo County clerk recorder.

No party preference voters have the option to cross over and vote in one of three different party ballots... the Democratic Party, the American Independent Party, or the Libertarian Party ballot.

To vote on the Republican ballot you need to be registered as a Republican.

Jeff Copeland says he still needs to register to vote and did not realize there was a problem registering at the DMV while getting a new California license.

"I recently moved back from Minnesota so I was not aware that was an issue," said Copeland.

The DMV said the problem with its new motor voter registration system is an isolated case and that any reports of large scale issues are unsubstantiated.

To check your voter registration status click here .

To register to vote you can click here .

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California voters could no longer be registered with their prefered political party - KSBY San Luis Obispo News

By Emma Balter

Trip Seibold had planned to run for U.S. Congress in 2020 to represent Texas 31st District, but he had to drop his bid because of significant burdens to get on the general election ballot. Why? Hes a Libertarian.

The Texas legislature passed a new law in June that puts significant restrictions on third-party candidates. Previously, third parties could get their candidates on the ballot if the party met certain requirements: It could hold a convention where the attendance equaled one percent of votes cast for governor in the last election, or it could gather the signatures of one percent of people who didnt vote in a primary in the last election.

In addition, at least one statewide candidate from the party must have also won five percent of a vote in the previous election cycle.

The bill was presented as a way to expand ballot access. It waived the convention and petition requirements and lowered the threshold of the third requirement. Now, a party only needs one of their candidates to receive two percent of a vote in the last five elections.

However, new requirements are shifted onto the individual candidates, who now have to submit a petition or, if they fall short of the minimum signatures required, pay filing fees of varying costs depending on the office.

Seibold did not get the number of signatures he needed, but refused to pay the large $3,125 filing fee. Instead, hes running for the Texas State Board of Education for District 10, which requires a lower fee of $300.

I have an unwavering belief that money doesnt belong in politics, Seibold said in a Facebook post on December 4. The Texas Legislature won and the American people lost.

A couple lawsuits followed the bills passing. In July, several third parties, including the Libertarians and Greens, sued the state over requirements which they say constitute too high a barrier for entry.

When you have these restrictions that make it effectively impossible for others to participate and entrench two old established parties, thats when the system starts to fail and thats when voters are denied meaningful choices at the polls, Oliver Hall, executive director of the Center for Competitive Democracy and an attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Houston Chronicle.

An October lawsuit that homed in on the filing fees resulted in a Harris County judge blocking them from being enacted, a mere week before the filing deadline. They won on the basis that the fees fund primary elections that third-party candidates do not participate in.

This temporary injunction was a crucial step to ensuring voters have choice at the ballot box, Harris County Libertarian Party Chair Katherine Youngblood told the Houston Chronicle.

This latest development is a big win for third parties, yet its just a provisional reprieve for now. The July suit is still pending.

Read this article:
Third-Party Candidates in Texas Want a Fair Shot - Reform Austin

Yegor Zhukov was tired of giving interviews. So instead of using the main entrance to an event in his honor, where a television crew was waiting for him, he slipped past a security guard and headed for a side door. He didnt go unnoticed.

Please, young man, follow the rules, the guard ordered, running after him.

Zhukov, a 21-year-old politics student and popular libertarian YouTube blogger, doesnt particularly like rules. Or rather, he explains, he doesnt mind rules in principle, its just that he grew up in a country with a big government that uses them to infringe on the rights of its citizens.

Wanting that to change is why he made a bold declaration last week, a day after a Moscow court had bowed to public pressure and released him on a suspended sentence of three years under the condition that he not use the internet.

I want to be the president of the country, he said in an appearance on the independent Dozhd television channel.

Although Zhukov has long criticized the Russian government on his blog, his recent experience with the countrys legal system was his first close encounter with what he sees as a repressive regime.

In August, at the height of the protests in Moscow against a decision by election commission officials to bar opposition politicians from running in the citys local parliament elections, police arrested him along with a couple of dozen others on charges of fomenting mass unrest.

They got the wrong guy. In court, prosecutors showed a video of a young man during a rally gesturing for people to walk toward a group of riot police. Journalists, however, later turned up another video showing that it was a case of mistaken identity.Despite the blunder, the authorities stood steadfast behind their decision.

The absurdity of the case made Zhukov the oppositions figurehead of the repressive nature of the authorities crackdown on the protests. His star rose further because of his stoic posture in the face of prosecution.

I dont know if I will be free, he told a judge during a court appearance, but Russia definitely will.

As a public outcry against the crackdown gathered steam, the authorities in September released a handful of the prisoners. But while Zhukovs charges were dropped, prosecutors now brandished a new accusation: that he had been hostile to the government in his YouTube videos and was hence guilty of extremism, a charge that carries up to five years in prison.

Like many opposition activists of his generation, Zhukovs political wake up came in March 2017, when Russias most prominent opposition critic Alexei Navalny released a YouTube video alleging corruption by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, sparking a series of protests that spring. In June of that year, Zhukov launched his blog.

But while Navalny triggered Zhukovs awakening, the young activist has chosen the ideological path of libertarianism, a political philosophy emphasizing individual autonomy. In nearly all of his videos in which he mostly criticizes President Vladimir Putins administration the Gadsden flag, a symbol of the American revolution adopted by libertarians, hangs on a wall behind him, blaring the words: Dont tread on me.

If his politics arent for all, his final words to a judge before sentencing last week nonetheless struck a chord with a wide audience.

Your honor, the darker my future, the wider I smile toward it, he said in a speech, translated into English by a number of publications including The New Yorker, that went viral in the United States.

On Wednesday evening, Zhukov, his parents, others who had been arrested and then released for their roles in the summers protests and activists of varying political persuasions gathered in the newsroom of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper in central Moscow to watch a documentary film the outlet had produced on the summer and the fallout.

Zhukov sat in the front row, erupting into laughter along with others in the room, their tribulations now behind them, as they watched scenes of Russian riot police clad in protective armor drag teenagers off to police wagons. Afterwards, Zhukov and one of his lawyers split off with several activists who wanted his ear over what he will do now that he is all but free.

The activists told him there are other cases that are not getting enough attention. Namely, that of Novoye Velichiye, or the New Greatness a chat group of mostly young people that was infiltrated by a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer. The authorities claim the group was extremist; its defenders say the case is fabricated.

By the end of the evening, Zhukov was convinced he had to speak out about the case. This is something that has directly affected me too, he said once he had sat down for an interview with The Moscow Times.

How will he do it? Legally speaking, his lawyers have told him, he can do it through his blog, which now has more than 170,000 followers having gained 70,000 since his August arrest as long as he passes administrative control over it to someone else.

Beyond continuing with the blog, he said, he plans to finish his university degree by next summer. Hes also going to host a talk show on the liberal Ekho Moskvy radio station and write for Novaya Gazeta.

These are other ways I see to keep spreading my ideas, he said. Thats my goal right now: for the focus not to be on me, but on the ideas.

His ideas have raised eyebrows. Critics have pointed to his support of Jordan Peterson, a Canadian thinker who has been described as a purveyor of fascist mysticism. They have also noted one video from January of this year titled Feminism Is Dangerous, in which Zhukov, seated behind a desk with a red Make America Great Again cap on it, tells his audience: Today the nutcases are lefties and particularly left-wing feminists.

During the Dozhd interview, Zhukov defended his views, comparing the idea of feminism to the Soviet notion of collective identities. This sparked a new round of criticism among Russian liberals.

Asked if he regretted his comments, Zhukov nodded, but said the problem was how he had explained himself.

It taught me that I need to carefully express my views, he said. At the end of the day, I want the same thing as Russian feminists. For transgender peoples rights to be respected, for same-sex marriage to be legal, for there to be a law against domestic violence. I just dont believe in classifying people according to collective identities.

Throughout the interview, Zhukovs press secretary Stanislav Toporkov, 18, sat beside him, correcting every now and then. Hes just one member of Zhukovs growing team, which currently has five other members.

But the team is still deciding how its going to function as an organized party or a more organic political movement. What it does know, Zhukov said, is that 2021 and 2024 when State Duma and presidential elections will take place are essential years for their future.

We are still figuring it all out, Zhukov said. The idea for now is to say: stay tuned.

Read more:
Yegor Zhukov Wants to Be Russia's President One Day - The Moscow Times

For almost seven years, Bill Weld carried the flag for Massachusetts Republicans in the governor's office, starting a 16-year reign of GOP chief executives on Beacon Hill that lasted until 2007.

The Canton Republican still holds the state's gubernatorial record for largest margin of victory in his 1994 landslide re-election, losing just five towns. And he was the MassGOP's nominee for U.S. Senate in 1996 when he mounted a serious campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. John Kerry.

Now, Weld will appear on the March 3 presidential Republican primary ballot in his home state, despite the efforts of the political party he once led.

He has Secretary of State William Galvin, a Democrat, to thank, instead.

Galvin has given all four political parties in Massachusetts - including the Democratic, Republican, Green-Rainbow and Libertarian parties until Friday to submit a list of candidates they want to appear on their Super Tuesday primary ballots. The Massachusetts Democratic Party submitted 15 names, including U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warrern and former Gov. Deval Patrick, on Thursday.

The lists are one of three ways a candidate can qualify for the presidential ballot in Massachusetts, and the MassGOP on Thursdaysubmitted only the nameof incumbent President Donald Trump.

"Having a sitting President as the only name on the potential candidate list is not unprecedented, and is in fact, an established procedure," MassGOP Chair Jim Lyons wrote.

Galvin on Thursday said he will add Weld's name to the ballot.

"I said to Mr. Lyons I would probaby add [Weld] if Mr. Lyons chose not to. He did not, so I will," Galvin said.

Weld thanked Galvin for his stance.

"When I was Governor, Republicans and Democrats in the Commonwealth respected one another and actually worked together," he said. "It is gratifying that such respect remains and that Secretary of State Galvin is ready to defend the rights of all Massachusetts voters."

Weld, who briefly left the Republican Party in 2016 to run as the vice presidential nominee on the Libertarian ticket, is mounting a long-shot primary challenge to President Trump, hoping to damage the incumbent in the process.

The former governor has predicted dire consequences for the Republican Party if Trump is not impeached and removed from office, a message that runs counter to Lyons's support for the president.

State law allows the secretary of state to unilaterally put a candidate on the primary ballot if they have determined the candidate to be "generally advocated or recognized in national news media throughout the United States."

The latest WBUR poll of New Hampshire Republicans had the former Massachusetts governor trailing the president with 9% of the vote. Trump led Weld 82% to 18% in an Emerson College poll of Massachusetts Republicans from April.

"I've already had a conversation with Mr. Lyons about this, and I told him that we had done our review and we thought Mr. Weld, as well as a former Congressman from Illinois, were national candidates," Galvin told the News Service on Thursday.

In addition to Weld, the secretary was referring to former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh. There's a fourth potential candidate Roque de la Fuente who Galvin said he does not consider to be a nationally recognized candidate who will likely have to turn in 2,500 signatures if he wants to qualify for the GOP primary. De la Fuentes ran as a Democrat in 2016 when he also took the signature route to the ballot.

Lyons said that during an incumbent presidency neither political party has submitted names other than that of the sitting president seeking re-election.

"We will follow set protocol and do the same, as has been done before in 2012 under Democratic President Barack Obama and in 2004 under Republican President George W. Bush," Lyons wrote.

Both Obama and Bush ran virtually unopposed in their re-election bids by any nationally known figures with the stature of someone like Weld.

But in 1992, MassGOP Chairman Leon Lombardi only put forward the name of President George H.W. Bush for the ballot, despite the incumbent being challenged by conservative commentator Pat Buchanan. Buchanan did end up getting onto the Massachusetts primary ballot that year, and won almost 75,000 votes, or 28%.

The parties, by law, have until Jan. 3 to submit their lists, but Galvin said he's following the same timeline he used during the last cycle in order to prepare ballots ahead of the Jan. 18 deadline to make them available to military and overseas voters.

Galvin plans to hold a drawing to determine the order of name placement on the ballots on Dec. 20, and candidates have until Jan. 10 to withdraw and have their names removed.

Tom Mountain, a Trump campaign spokesman in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and a member of the MassGOP state committee, has previously said that Weld should give up on his campaign.

"If he has any dignity he should ride off into the sunset," Mountain told the News Service last month after Weld held an event to call for Trump's impeachment. "No one is taking Bill Weld seriously except Bill Weld."

Gov. Charlie Baker suggested recently that he thought the Republican primary in Massachusetts would be a low-turnout affair with or without Weld on the ballot.

When discussing whether to schedule a special election for a state Senate seat on the same day as the primaries, Baker said, "I think having a general election for a state Senate seat on the same day as a presidential primary when you have numerous candidates running on one side, and for all intents and purposes, one and maybe two depending upon how the secretary of state puts the ballot together, on the other doesn't really give voters an opportunity to tune in on the state Senate race, which is what I would like to see them do in that race."

Baker has described Weld as a political mentor, but so far has declined to endorse his former boss over Trump, who he didn't vote for in 2016 and has frequently disagreed with.

Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford asked Galvin to include Warren, Patrick, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Michael Bennet, Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Michael Bloomberg, Julian Castro, former Congressman John Delaney, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Marianne Williamson and Andrew Yang.

See original here:
Bill Weld Will Be On Mass. Primary Ballots Despite The State GOP's Effort To Block Him - WBUR