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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain from Philadelphia announced his campaign for governor on Monday, but the Republican spent his first day on the campaign trail in Pittsburgh.

McSwain is not well known yet in western Pennsylvania, which explains why he campaigned at Cupkas Cafe on the South Side, invoking his Marine background in a region known for its veterans. The 52-year-old father of four pressed the flesh.

We have a motto in the Marine Corps Semper Fi. It means Always Faithful. Semper Fi, Pennsylvania. Semper Fi, Pittsburgh. You can count on me to be faithful to you always, McSwain told a small group of greeters.

The Ivy League lawyer and native of West Chester, outside Philadelphia, says his focus is to create economic and educational opportunity. But the former federal prosecutor is best known for his stance as a tough-on-crime, tough-on-violent-protesters and very pro-police prosecutor.

I put rioters, arsonists and looters in jail who tried to destroy Philadelphia. In my opinion, people who torch police cars and throw Molotov cocktails in front of city hall, these are not heroes. These are criminals to be prosecuted, McSwain told his supporters.

In an interview with KDKA political editor Jon Delano, McSwain condemned what he calls a culture of lawlessness and disrespect for police. He says its a problem in Pittsburgh and many urban areas that has led to more shootings than ever.

Much of the problem is because of a lack of support for the police by our public officials and by our elected officials. What I did as U.S. Attorney is that I made it very clear that I stood with law enforcement. I stood with the police, and I was going to have their back.

McSwain says as governor, he will boost funding, not cut it, for local police in the neighborhoods.

They need to be on their toes. They need to be proactive. They need to be in the community, doing the things to keep the community safe. And when they are unfairly criticized and when theyre not supported by public officials, theyre on their heels. And when theyre on their heels, crime spikes, says McSwain.

McSwain is sharply critical of Gov. Tom Wolf for his statewide mandates during the COVID pandemic, but unlike governors in Florida and Texas, McSwain would allow local officials to make their own decisions on mandates.

Im in favor of local input and local control. So Im anti-mandate, and that would include allowing local officials, school boards, county officials and the like the flexibility and discretion and freedom for them to decide whats best for their community, he said.

On abortion, McSwain says hes pro-life but would allow abortions in the case of rape and incest, something the new Texas anti-abortion law does not permit.

As for whether fraud in Pennsylvania prevented Donald Trump from winning this state as the former president claims, McSwain was asked:

Delano: Do you believe that Pennsylvania was stolen from President Trump in that election of 2020?

McSwain: I believe that Joe Biden is the president, unfortunately, and hes a bad president.

There were a lot of things wrong from a procedural standpoint the way it was managed, the way it was run, it was very partisan. And I think thats why a lot of people throughout the state dont have confidence in the results of our election, says McSwain.

McSwain says he will support election reforms if hes elected.

So far eight Republicans have declared for Governor with several others still considering it. There are no announced Democratic candidates yet, although most expect Attorney General Josh Shapiro to run.

The primary in both parties is eight months away.

Read more:
Republican Bill McSwain Campaigns For Governor In Pittsburgh With Strong Law And Order Message - CBS Pittsburgh

Several more Republicans are calling on the Biden administration to designate the Taliban as a terrorist organization.

In a letter dated Wednesday to Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenTop Republican: General told senators he opposed Afghanistan withdrawal Overnight Defense & National Security Details of Trump's final days prompt call to fire Milley Senate lawmakers let frustration show with Blinken MORE led by Sen. Joni ErnstJoni Kay ErnstTop Republican: General told senators he opposed Afghanistan withdrawal Senators call on VA to help veterans struggling with mental health Ignoring the National Guard is dangerous MORE (R-Iowa), several senators said the current version of the Taliban government presents a significant threat to the United States.

Since reestablishing control of Afghanistan, the Taliban resumed the same murderous and oppressive habits that characterized their leadership tenure prior to the arrival of U.S. forces in 2001, the senators, which include Ernst and Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Dan SullivanDaniel Scott SullivanOvernight Energy: Judge blocks permits for Alaska oil project The 19 GOP senators who voted for the T infrastructure bill The Hill's Morning Report - Presented by AT&T - Final countdown: Senate inches toward last infrastructure vote MORE (R-Alaska.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), said in their letter.

The senators pointed to the treatment of civilians, including women, in Afghanistan under the Talibans regime. Last week, several news outlets reported that the Taliban had beaten women who had taken part in a demonstration following the announcement that the Talibans cabinet was all-male.

Women who spoke with the BBC said that during the protest they had been struck by batons and whipped. Witnesses told CNN that some journalists had also been reportedly beaten while covering the protest.

The Taliban have previously said that they will support the rights of women under Islamic framework and not go after old enemies, however, much of the international community remains increasingly skeptical.

The senators also pointed to the recent appointment of Sirajuddin Haqqani, an FBI-wanted militant who was named as the acting interior minister. Haqqani is also the leader of the Haqqani network, which in 2012 became designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.

Given their history of supporting terror attacks on the United States, their brutal style of governance, their continued display of atrocities against Americans and our allies, and now, their enhanced military capability, the current version of the Taliban government presents a significant threat to the United States. Further, the Taliban display the will and the means to attack Americans and American interests, the senators said.

The senators argued that the Taliban had met the necessary criteria to designate the group as a foreign terrorist organization, saying that they urged him to consider designating the Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization and treating them as such to the maximum extent of the law.

The call follows resolutions introduced by both Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamGOP lawmakers urge State Department to designate the Taliban a terrorist organization Democrats aim for maximum pressure on GOP over debt ceiling NY Democrat tests positive for COVID-19 in latest House breakthrough case MORE (R-S.C.) andRep.MichaelWaltz (R-Fla.) on Tuesday, that would also call on the State Department to deem the Afghan Taliban a foreign terrorist organization in addition to declaring the group's takeover in Afghanistanacoup detat.

This resolution is one of the most important things Congress can do regarding the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, Graham said in a statement. Designating the Taliban as a Foreign Terrorist Organization will make it harder for countries to provide them aid and recognition. We would be sending a strong signal that America does not do business with terrorist groups and their sympathizers. The Taliban are radical jihadists in every sense of the word and use terror as their tactic.

The Taliban were designated Specially Designated Global Terrorists in July 2002 by former President George W. Bush. However, the U.S.s current list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations does not include them.

The calls for a designation come as the international community cautiously decides how or if to recognize the Talibans cabinet as a legitimate government. President BidenJoe BidenNewsom easily beats back recall effort in California Second senior official leaving DHS in a week Top Republican: General told senators he opposed Afghanistan withdrawal MORE and Blinken have said they will judge the Taliban based on their actions and not just their words.

During a House committee hearing on Monday, Blinken was grilled on the U.S.s evacuation from Afghanistan. Noting that the interim government included some people sanctioned by the U.S. for facilitating or sponsoring terrorism acts and did not include women on its cabinet, heconceded that it fell very short of the mark set by the international community.

He noted that engagement from the U.S. toward the new regime will be on the basis of whether or not it advances our interests.

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More Republicans call on Biden to designate Taliban as terrorist group | TheHill - The Hill

American papers are filled with pundits speculating about the horrors the Taliban may inflict on the people of Afghanistan, particularly its women. Less attention has been paid to the horrors Texas Republicans the Taliban wing of the Republican Party are inflicting on the State of Texas. In total control of the state, Republicans have a free hand that theyve used to enforce extremism.

Dubbing them the Texas Taliban isnt just name-calling. The parallels are chilling. The Taliban scorn democracy. They see their opponents as heretics and heathens. The Taliban are bigots, rejecting people of other religions. The Taliban enforce a religious zealotry with suppression of women a central tenet. The Taliban invoke religious law to supplant the civil law. The Taliban reject modernity, scorn science, and seek return to a fundamentalist society that never was.

Now consider the Republicans in Texas. They too are afraid of democracy. From Sen. Ted Cruz to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, they sought to overturn the presidential election, while the party leaders echo Donald Trumps Big Lie that the election was stolen.

Worried that Republicans are in danger of becoming a minority in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican state legislature just pushed through election suppression measures to make it harder for workers, minorities, seniors, young people and the disabled to vote, harder for civic groups to assist people in voting, easier for partisans to intimidate voters, and opened the way for the partisan legislature to overturn election results they dont like.

Republicans prey, as well, on racial and religious prejudices. Their party chairman, Allen West, is a former Florida congressman who described Barack Obama as Islamist, charging that he was purposefully enabling the Islamist cause. When the Supreme Court tossed Trumps baseless challenge to the election, West suggested that the South should rise again and secede: that law-abiding states should bound together and form a union of states that will abide by the constitution.

Republicans in Texas also target women in their zealotry. The governor just signed a law effectively banning abortion in Texas, outlawing any abortion after six weeks. Most women dont even know they are pregnant in that period of time.

Worse, the law turns citizens into bounty hunters, offering cash rewards for turning in anyone who assists someone seeking an abortion. This law, if it survives challenge, will lead to deaths from illicit abortions, from suicide, from pregnancies that take the mothers life. An effort to stay the enforcement of this vicious law a clear violation of the Supreme Courts constitutional precedents was just denied by the Supreme Courts right-wing justices acting without issuing an opinion.

The Republicans also turn their backs on science. Texas has suffered record-breaking floods, droughts and winter storms over the last decade. Yet, with the state a leader in fossil fuel production, its politicians have been in denial about climate change. They were unprepared when Hurricane Harvey hit the state in 2017. Then extreme weather caused a major snowstorm that froze an unprotected energy grid. Gov. Abbot laughably blamed the deadly energy failure on solar and wind energy.

Now Abbott and Texas Republicans are trying to ban local authorities and school districts from enforcing mask mandates. Pandering to the Trump-aroused zealots in their own party, they are prepared to put children and teachers at risk, even as Texas hospitals and ICUs are filling up with the surge of new cases from the Delta variant.

The Taliban, of course, patrol the streets of Kabul armed with AK-47s, terrorizing those who might cross them. The Texas Taliban hasnt gone that far, but they did just force through a law allowing its citizens to carry handguns without a permit.

In an era when weve witnessed armed gangs marching on the Michigan legislature and the sacking of the U.S. Capitol, one can only shudder to think what would happen in Texas if Republicans were to lose political control.

Unlike the Taliban, Texas Republicans still have to face the voters. Big oil money can help insulate them. Voter suppression laws can hold down turnout. The Big Lie can rouse their base. In the end, however, Texans will decide whether they will bring an end to this misrule or continue to support a party that is ever more unhinged.

In the last two weeks, the Taliban honored an agreement to help the U.S. military get 123,000 Afghans and Americans out of the country and promised to do more as they seek to work with other nations.

In that same period, the Texas legislature and Abbott sought to restrict voting and take away a womans right to self-determination. Who are we to not trust a newly emerging Taliban as it seeks its place in the family of nations while being asked to trust a Republican Government of Texas that attacks democracy and the rights of women?

Its the old tried-and-true Confederate State of Texas, the last state to inform its slaves they were free, for which we now celebrate Juneteenth.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

Original post:
The Texas Taliban wing of the Republican Party | Jackson - Chicago Sun-Times

The public can meet local and state legislators, candidates and elected officials during Sept. 11 political gathering

The Republican Party of Jefferson County announces the 16th year of Central Oregon's premier political gathering, Burgers and Politics. This gathering will honor the victims and survivors of 9/11 as well as the first responders who braved that assault on the nation. The organization recognizes all who continue to honor the country with their patriotic service.

On Saturday, Sept. 11 between 1 and 5 p.m., the Burgers and Politics event will take place at Over the Edge Tap House, 13959 SW Commercial Loop Drive in Crooked River Ranch.

As in past Burgers and Politics gatherings, they will reserve a solemn moment of reflection to show their resolve to Never Forget 9/11. Many local Republican elected officials as well as statewide candidates who have thrown their hat in the ring for various positions in the 2022 elections will be introduced. This is an opportunity for the public to meet the men and women who want to make a difference in the state and to ask questions.

This family-friendly get-together offers the community a chance to get to know and be informed by current elected officials and Republican legislators from various parts of the state, including Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes counties. Oregon Sen. Dennis Linthicum will be the keynote speaker and will share the victories and challenges the Republican Party faces statewide and how each member can have a voice and make a difference.

This will be an informal event with a town hall feeling. Admission and music are free. All food and beverages will be discounted, and there will be raffles and an auction. Kurt Silva will provide music as attendees mix, mingle, and meet like-minded neighbors, officials and candidates.

You count on us to stay informed and we depend on you to fund our efforts.Quality local journalism takes time and money. Please support us to protect the future of community journalism.

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Pamplin Media Group - Republican group hosts Burgers and Politics - Pamplin Media Group

Republicans already appeared divided over how far to go in confronting the University of Wisconsin System specifically former Governor Tommy Thompson over setting its COVID-19 policies.

On Thursday, the split widened.

First,UW System interim PresidentThompson and UW Regent President Edmund Manydeeds III sent a letter to the Republican leaders of the Legislatures rules committeeconfirming they would not come to the committee for permission before implementing such steps as mandatory testing and mask rules on UW campuses.

Then state Sen. Robert Cowles,R-Green Bay, issued a statement saying he supports the UW System's ability to make its own decisions about how to control the spread of COVID-19 on campuses.

Finally, state Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, capped the day by saying he'll formally ask State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader DevinLeMahieu, R-Oostburg, to take the state university system to court.

Nass is the senator whoproposed a motion in the Legislature's rules committee that requiresthe UW System to submit any COVID-19 protocolsfor approval.The motion passed on a party-line vote Aug. 3, which Nass and committee co-chair Rep. Adam Neylon, R-Pewaukee, said gives them power over pandemic-related rules on campus.

In their letter to Nass and Neylon, Thompson and Manydeeds called out the rules committee for not holding a public hearing on Nass' proposal and for not taking any steps in the 14 months before this point to weigh in on campuses' pandemic responses.

"On its face, this directive is overly broad and lacks reasonable specificity by which to evaluate and discuss concerns rationally," Thompson and Manydeeds wrote."We believe (the rules committee's) position is instructive, however, as it highlights the nature of the executive functions and actions that your committee takes issue with that have beenexplicitly delegated to us by statute and rule, and have been long recognized as core responsibilities of the Board of Regents by the legislature and the courts."

The letter also noted Nass' own previous actions conflicted with the idea that the UW System has to consult with the Legislature, pointing to a bill proposed butnever taken up to change established state law so that UW campuses are prohibitedfrom implementing vaccine mandates.

Thompson, a Republican and the state's longest-serving governor,had made his feelings knownlast week, calling the directive "both wrong on the law and wrong as a matter of public policy."

More: 'Not abdicating my responsibility': Tommy Thompson spurns the GOP attempt to control, block COVID rules on campuses

He essentially dared his former colleagues to take him and the UW System to court, saying he'd take the fight all the way to the state Supreme Court.

"We think we've got a great case," he said.

His comments drew support from Republican Assembly leaderJim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, who indicated last week that he had no interest in suing UW, saying doing so"would only add more confusion during an already stressful time" as students return to campuses.

More: Republican Assembly Leader not interested in suing UW System for control of COVID policies on campus

Now Cowles has joined in.

"I do not support a legal challenge by the State Legislature to UW-Systems COVID-19 mitigation measures," Cowles said."During this ongoing workforce shortage thats bound to only maintain or intensify, tying the hands of one of our states most powerful workforce development tools and driving decisions that could cancel or limit in-person instruction doesnt seem to be in the best interests of our local communities or business sector.

None of this sitswell with Nass, a relentless critic of the UW System and opponent of COVID protocols.

His chief of staff,Mike Mikalsen, said Thursday it was "unfortunate" that Cowles did not support suing.

"Last year, the Legislature went to court to end unlawful Covid-19 mandates issued by Governor Evers Department of Health Services,"Mikalsen said in an email."Senator Nass opposes unlawful Covid-19 mandates issued by any state agency regardless of if they are led by a Democrat appointee or a former Republican governor."

Later, Nass added he thought some of his colleagues had "gone soft" and would only oppose the mandates when they were "issued by the other party."

LeMahieu's communications director said he would not have a response Thursday on what path the Senate leader would take. Vos' office has not responded to multiple requests for comment since last week.

Contact Devi Shastri at 414-224-2193 or DAShastri@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DeviShastri.

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GOP divided over whether to push UW System on COVID rules, with Nass digging in and others siding with Thompson - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel