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French President Emmanuel Macrons party, La Republique En Marche, won a resounding victory Sunday in the final round of the countrys parliamentary elections, gaining a commanding majorityin the National Assembly.

The victory, which dramatically reshapes French politics, is particularly remarkable given that Macrons party is just a year old and many of its elected representatives are new to government. Macron himself was practically unknown a year ago.But amid a fracturing of support for Frances traditionally powerful parties, En Marche successfully presented itself as a party able to transcendleft-right political divides to bring reform.

En Marche created both a presidential and a parliamentary campaign that mimicked the campaign of then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in 2008 with young candidates pledging change and a large grassroots movement of volunteers getting out the vote.Behind the scenes, the parallel was even more explicit, as Macron employed a political consulting firm called Liegey Muller Pons to bring U.S.-style voter outreach strategy and data collection methods reminiscent of Obamas 2008 and 2012 campaigns into French politics.

The consulting firms founders, Vincent Pons, Arthur Muller and Guillaume Liegey, met while at Harvard and MIT and had spent time as canvassers for Obamas data-driven ground game. While volunteering and observing how the Obama campaign ran, they began to note its extensive use of data, door-to-door canvassing and recording of information from voters.

Pons, who went door-to-door in New Hampshire in 2012, told HuffPost he was struck by the level of professionalism and technology in Obamas campaign as compared to French elections. Pons, Liegey and Muller focused their firm on taking some of the methods theyd witnessed in the U.S. and bringing them back to France.

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For Macron, Liegey Muller Pons developed an algorithm based on census data and past election results to help En Marche pinpoint neighborhoods in France that were indicative of the country as a whole. Macrons party then sent tens of thousands of volunteers to speak with potential voters in those areas during 2016, and used these visits as a kind of mass focus group to determine what issues the electorate cared about.

The effort was not meant to persuade and mobilize voters to support [Macron], Pons, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, told HuffPost. The intention was instead to have a discussion with voters and bridge the gap between politics and voters.

En Marche recorded tens of thousands of conversations, using the resulting data to craft Macrons policy platform and communications strategy. It also planted an early seed in key neighborhoods and helped build a base of volunteers and staff that it could use in its official election campaign this year. Liegey Muller Pons provided analysis on this data to further inform the campaigns strategy.

Pons believes that the process of canvassing and voter engagement outside of the election cycle something not previously done in France allowed Macron to reach disillusioned citizens who would have otherwise ignored last-minute appeals to vote. It also created an image of a party willing to hear the grievances of voters, even before they were formally asking for a vote in return.

En Marche and Macron ran on a platform that combined centrist, pro-European Union policies with promises of reform and a change from establishment parties. Unlike the more radical campaigns run by the far-left and far-right candidates, which attracted a high percentage of the youth vote, En Marche received an almost even distribution of voters across age demographics. The party did especially well in major cities and with educated voters.

The success of En Marche shows that you can also provide a powerful answer by having someone who has reasonable ideas, progressive ideas, but who brings a change simply because he doesnt have a large political background and is going to present a number of new faces and new candidates, Pons said.

Bertrand Guay / POOL New / Reuters

Macron, a banker and former Socialist minister, came from relative obscurity to upend French politics, defeating established party candidates and far-right leader Marine Le Pen to win the presidency last month.But even after his win, Macron still needed a parliamentary majority in order to avoid a gridlocked government and a diminished presidency.

En Marche fielded more than 14,000 applications from people seeking to run for Parliament. Around half of the partys 526 candidates are new to politics, and 266 of them are women.La Republique En Marche candidates ended up easily securing a majority on Sunday, as projections showed the party and its centrist ally the MoDems on pace to secure at least 355 seats out of the chambers 577.

Even as low voter turnout in parliamentary elections took some sheen off the strong showing, the results still suggest that Macrons party will have the numbers to enact the wide-ranging reforms promised during the campaign.

But public backlash to some of Macrons pro-business reforms is likely, and the low turnout is not a good sign for French enthusiasm toward its current politics. Frances powerful trade unions have in the past rallied millions of people to the streets over proposed policy changes, and the unions have cautioned Macron against pushing through labor reforms too swiftly.

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The House Intelligence Committee will press forward with its probe into Russian election interference, after weeks of the spotlight being on the parallel Senate investigation.

On Wednesday, the panel willconvenean open hearing with Jeh Johnson, who led the Department of Homeland Security under the Obama administration. Johnson has already met with Senate investigators in their probe.

It was Johnson who, just weeks before former President Barack ObamaBarack ObamaWeek ahead: Obama DHS chief to testify on Russian meddling Week ahead: Ryan to give 'major' tax reform speech | Panel takes up flood insurance bill | Trump trade rep heads before Congress Pro-Trump groups take Obama out of context in Georgia election ad MORE left office, announced that the government was designating election infrastructure as "critical"--opening up polling places, vote tabulation locations, and technology used in elections to federal protections.

Russia's targeting of elements of voting infrastructure has attracted renewed attention following The Intercept's recentpublicationof classified NSA report detailing such efforts. Bloombergreportedon Tuesdaythat Russian hackers targeted voting systems in 39 states.

The House investigation has received little attention since the May 23 hearing during which former CIA director John Brennan, another Obama-era official,saidthat he had viewed intelligence showing contacts between associates of the Trump campaign and Moscow that concerned him.

AlsoWednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee willholdits own hearing on future U.S. election security, soliciting input from officials at DHS and the FBI, as well as individuals outside of the federal government--including an official with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Illinois officialsrevealedlast year that the state's voter database had been targeted by a cyberattack.

The hearing is also part of the panel's investigation into Russian election interference efforts.

The ongoing federal probe--led by special counsel Robert Mueller--has reportedlywidenedto include the possibility of obstruction of justice, following ousted FBI director James Comey's testimony that President Trump directed him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee willexamine "cybersecurity regulation harmonization"on Wednesdayfeaturing outside government efforts and a chief information officer with the government of Oklahoma.

On Thursday, lawmakers will host the first bipartisan Capitol Hill national security forum, an all-day event focusing on homeland security, intelligence, the military, and cybersecurity.

The event will feature a discussion with DHS chief John Kelly and is hosted by Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) along with Sens. Marco RubioMarco RubioWeek ahead: Obama DHS chief to testify on Russian meddling THE MEMO: For Trump, danger signs in the polls Trump retweets supporters Diamond and Silk on Russia probe MORE (R-Fla.) and Chris CoonsChris CoonsWeek ahead: Obama DHS chief to testify on Russian meddling Dem: Trump wrong, Salem witch trials 'greatest witch hunt in American history' When can law enforcement access data stored abroad? Only Congress can tell MORE (D-Del.).

In case you missed it, here are some of our recent pieces:

Senate overwhelmingly passes Russia sanctions deal

False flag extortionists targeting North American mining firms, casinos

Canadian hacker charged in Yahoo hack could accept US extradition

Senators seek answers on alleged NSA leaker's security clearance

U.S., British officials push deal on cross-border data access for law enforcement

GOP rep: Let's call controversial antivirus expert Kaspersky to testify

'Crash Override' malware heightens fears for US electric grid

First federal agency gets 'A' grade in IT report card

Microsoft releases new update citing concern over state-sponsored attacks

DHS, FBI release details on North Korea cyberattacks

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Week ahead: Obama DHS chief to testify on Russian meddling - The Hill

The Obamas may be out of the White House, but theres a chance we could see them on the sidelines at a college football game this fall. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said over the weekend that he plans to ask both Michelle and Barack to serve as honorary captains for a Wolverines home game this season.

"We're making those asks. Official asks," Harbaugh told reporters via ESPN. "In the process of making an official ask. There's been, 'Hey, we'd like you to do it,' and now we're doing official asks."

Harbaugh added that he spent a good 39 minutes with President Obama over the weekend. The Michigan head coachs son Jay was also in attendance.

Jay serves as the Wolverines running backs coach. It may be surprising that Harbaugh and the Obamas have linked up, but the head coach has a previous relationship with the former first couple. Harbaugh was invited to the Obamas farewell party in January, where he also hung out with Usher.

According to The Detroit News, Harbaugh has worked with Michelle Obama in the past, specifically with her Reach Higher Initiative, which promotes higher education. The newspaper adds that hes been to the White House multiple times.

If the Obamas accept, my guess is theres a good chance the two could be on-hand for the Ohio State game, which is slated for Nov. 25 from The Big House. Guess well have to wait and see.

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Jim Harbaugh wants Barack & Michelle Obama to serve as honorary captains for Michigan - SB Nation

President Trump on Friday rolled back some, but not all, of his predecessors historic opening to Cuba, making it more difficult to travel to and do business with the Communist-ruled island.

In a speech in Miamis Little Havana enclave, Trump said Cuban rulers were profiting from better relations with Washington but that ordinary Cuban citizens continued to be repressed.

Trump said he was completely canceling the terrible and misguided deal that President Obama forged in secret negotiations in 2014 with Pope Francis and other international leaders.

We will not be silent in the face of Communist oppression any longer," Trump said. Effective immediately, I am canceling the last administration's completely one-sided deal with Cuba."

Cuba's leaders on Friday night criticized Trump's hostile rhetoric and said his announcement signaled a return to the coercive methods of the past.

In a letter signed by Cuba's revolutionary government and published in Granma, the ruling party's official mouthpiece, the leaders said that Trumps actions contradict the majority support of American public opinion. It suggested Trump was influenced not by overall opinion polls but by the views of a minority of Cuban Americans who opposed Obamas moves to improve relations with Cuba.

Despite their obvious anger at Trumps attacks, the Cuban leaders did not threaten retaliatory measures. They said they would be willing to continue negotiating with the U.S., so long as it was via respectful dialogue.

The actual order Trump signed, however, was considerably more modest than the presidents sweeping rhetoric might suggest. His directive left key elements of Obamas overtures open: He did not close the U.S. embassy in Havana, nor did he completely block commerce.

In addition, the new restrictions will not take place immediately and are not expected to force businesses to unwind existing deals, an administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters in a briefing Thursday.

John Kavulich, director of the Cuba Trade Organization, which tracks business with the island, said businesses will have 90 days to make deals before the American government shuts down.

The starter pistol has been fired, he said.

Despite those limitations, the new restrictions drew objections from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which said in a statement that Trumps moves actually limit the possibility for positive change on the island.

The main goal of the new regulations is to keep keep money out of the hands of Cubas military and intelligence services and empower the Cuban people, a White House official said.

The new rules include prohibitions on Americans spending money on businesses controlled by the military, which has a wide reach in the Cuban economy. That change would affect some proposed hotel projects in which Cuban entities controlled by the military would be partners.

In addition, rules on American travel to Cuba will be tightened, limiting casual tourism. But airlines will continue to be able to fly to Havana, and cruise ships will still dock at the islands ports.

Trumps speech, before an audience that included aging veterans of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion an effort by CIA-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castros government was heavy with Cold War rhetoric and references to images, such as gunshots in the ocean breeze, that no longer exist in Cuba.

It amounted to an effort to partially return to the status quo from before December 2014, when President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced they were reopening diplomatic ties after a half-century of hostility.

Soon, Americans could travel to Cuba and businesses, including the tourism industry and food-producing farm states, were involved in commercial deals.

But conservative members of Congress, especially those based here in south Florida, objected, saying that it was mostly the Communist government and Cuban military who were benefiting. Until Cubas human rights situation improved, they argued, deals with Cuba should be limited.

Floridas Republican Sen. Marco Rubio had lobbied Trump intensely to stick with his campaign pledge to roll back the opening to Cuba.

The timing and location of Trumps announcement raised some eyebrows. He came to Miami as his vice president and three Cabinet secretaries were hosting leaders of Mexico and Central America in a two-day conference on immigration and regional prosperity.

All of the visiting Latin Americans were among the hemispheres leaders who welcomed Obamas decision to recognize Havana. Until then, the United States was the only country in the world that continued to maintain a hostile position toward Cuba, and Obamas decision to reverse that gained enormous good will for the United States throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Trumps announcement is all but certain to anger Latin America and erode U.S. ability in the region, including Washingtons efforts to pressure Venezuelas abusive, leftist government.

The optics are not the best, said a senior international Latin American finance official in Miami for the conference. Like many diplomats, he spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about the Trump administration.

The entire region welcomed the United States normalization of relations with Cuba, said Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin America program at the nonpartisan Wilson Center think tank in Washington. The hardening of policy can only add to the growing distance between Washington and the regions democracies.

National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton denied that the timing was aimed at Latin American leaders.

Theres nothing intentional about the timing. Its not a slap in the face," he told reporters on Air Force One as Trump flew to Miami.

"We hope we can get support from other Latin American leaders for this policy," Anton said. "This is a policy that favors the Cuban people over and against an oppressive regime.

But even among Cuban Americans here, some were dismayed.

Arsencio Acevedo, a Cuban who has lived in Miami for nearly 30 years, was critical of Trumps gesture.

We need communication, Acevedo, 48, who works as a waiter, said. It is communication that helps us all connect. Cut that off, and you cut off everything.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

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Trump rolls back some of Obama's openings to Cuba

Musician Ted Nugent is known for speaking his mind about the Second Amendment and hunting, butespecially onpoliticians. He once saidthen-Democratic presidential candidate BarackObama should suck my machine gun. When President Obama was running for reelection in 2012, the rocker said during the National Rifle Association convention that, If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. The statement attracted the attention of the Secret Service.

But after Wednesday'sshooting at a congressional baseball practice, Nugent has decided to be more selective with my rants and in my words.

At the tender age of 69, my wife has convinced me I just cant use those harsh terms, he said on the 77 WABC radio program Thursday. I cannot and will not and I encourage even my friends, slash, enemies on the left, in the Democrat and liberal world, that we have got to be civil to each other.

I'm not going to engage in that kind of hateful rhetoric anymore.

More recently his past comments about Obama and Hillary Clinton(Obama & Clinton, that's who. They should be tried for treason & hung.")wereinvoked as what some saw as the right's hypocritical outrage overimagesof Kathy Griffin holding a mask of a bloody, severed head in the likeness of President Trump.

Nugent'schange of heart comes as someRepublicans and Democrats have also called for more civil tone in the political discourse.(Meanwhile, the Internet's pro-Trump personalitiesblamedthe attack on liberals and the media).

Politicians in Washington responded to the attack on the Republican baseball team on June 14 with messages of grief, gratitude and unity. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

President Trump called for national unity after Wednesday's shooting,winning praise from even his late night show criticsStephen Colbert, whothanked the presidentfor responding to this act of terror in a way that gives us hope, whatever our differences. (Trump would soon be back at tweeting aboutthe single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history.")

At the Congressional Baseball Game Thursday evening, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) told CNN thatWhat we're trying to do is tone down the rhetoric, lead by example and show people we can disagree with one another, we can have different ideas without being vitriolic, without going to such extremes. Standing next to Ryan, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said, Tonight we're all Team Scalise, referring to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who was shot during the attack and was reported to be in a critical condition.

Greg Gianforte, Montana's incoming congressman who had recently been convicted of assaulting a reporter, toldthe Associated Press that, Its important to make sure we reach out to all parties and hear their voice. I think the other parties have an obligation, as well, to be respectful and in that dialogue.

AndRep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), whowas on the baseball field during the shooting,condemned what he called political, rhetorical terrorism practiced by both sides.

Is this Americas breaking point? he asked on CNN. Its my breaking point. Weve got to end this.

For Nugent, this isn't the first time he has talked about hislanguage.

In 2014, heapologized for calling President Obama a subhuman mongrel after a backlash that included criticism fromRepublican senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul.

I apologize for using the street-fighter terminology of subhuman mongrel instead of just using more understandable language, such as violator of his oath to the Constitution, the liar that he is. Following Thursday's radio interview, the rock guitarist went liveon a Facebook video tocontinue explaining his decision.

I'm not backing down jack squat, he said, but was taking actionso some idiot doesn't misinterpret that I'm recommending violence.

On Sunday, Nugent told"Fox & Friends" thathis machine gun statement "was a direct response to the liberal Democrats Obama and Clinton, et al to ban certain types of firearms, violating their oath to the Constitution and the Second Amendment.

That was a metaphor and nobody is too stupid not to know that, he said. "But the left is so dishonest that they have misrepresented that."

Asked if people on both sides of the aisle will follow his lead, Nugent saidthat he has "not seen any gesture whatsoever from the left."

It looks to me that they are going to burn down buildings if they disagree with your speech, and they're still going to turn over cars and attack people if they dont agree with you, he added.

Other conservatives have alsotried to place the onus on the left.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.)pointed towhat he called an increasing hostility on the left.

Maybe this is a moment when everybody takes a step back, but there is no evidence of it.

And as The Post's Dan Balz wrote,the recent calls for a break from hostilities might not last.

Wednesdays shootings can act as a temporary circuit breaker to some of the hostilities, and Thursdays Congressional Baseball Game can become an emotional and poignant coming together. But will that be enough to prevent a swift return to the kind of debilitating political conflict that has become so accepted as the norm? History shows how difficult that could be.

This story has been updated.

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Calling for civility, Ted Nugent explains why he once told Obama to ... - Washington Post