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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Philip Rivers spent more than a decade picking apart the Indianapolis Colts and irritating their fans.

On Wednesday, hell become their new quarterback.

The longtime Chargers star agreed to a one-year contract with Indy on Tuesday, according to a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot be officially announced until Wednesday.

General manager Chris Ballard has now filled two major offseason needs in two days adding an eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback to the roster less than 24 hours after acquiring Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner in a trade with San Francisco.

What the Colts are getting with the 38-year-old Rivers is a 16-year veteran, coming off a season in which he had his fewest touchdown passes, 23, since 2007 and his most interceptions, 20, since 2016. It was one reason the Chargers decided not to bring back the franchises career passing leader.

In Indy, Rivers will be reunited with coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni. Reich was the Chargers quarterbacks coach in 2013 and the offensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015. Sirianni spent five seasons in San Diego, two as quarterbacks coach.

The move also completes a strange cycle.

The New York Giants selected Rivers with the fourth overall draft pick in the 2004 draft then made a draft-day swap with the Chargers for Eli Manning, whose older brother, Peyton, was still starring in Indy. Twice during Rivers tenure, he played on teams that eliminated the Colts from the playoffs.

And it will almost certainly rekindle memories for Colts owner Jim Irsay, who was a teenager when his fathers team dealt then-39-year-old quarterback John Unitas from Baltimore to San Diego in 1973. That turned out to be the final season for Unitas, a Hall of Famer who died in 2002.

The Colts believe Rivers can last at least that long.

Rather than using the No. 13 pick in Aprils draft to bring in a new young gun, they dealt it to the 49ers for Buckner and then continued negotiating with Rivers agents.

Now, presumably, Rivers will replace Jacoby Brissett as the Colts opening day starter.

Brissett started 15 of 16 games last season after replacing the retired Andrew Luck in August. The Colts went 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

But from the moment of Lucks sudden departure through last months NFL annual scouting combine, Ballard continued insisting the Colts were all-in with Brissett.

It now appears Brissett will be the odd man out in Indy and could even be on the move. He was acquired in a deal with New England just before the 2017 season.

And with Tom Brady leaving New England, there is speculation the Patriots could be in the market for an experienced arm who has played in the system. The Chargers, meanwhile, are expected to join the Brady sweepstakes.

But with the quarterback carousel spinning wildly Tuesday, Rivers found a place to settle down and continue to pursue that elusive Super Bowl ring.

Indy has one of the leagues top offensive lines, a strong ground game that proved it could win last season and an improving defense that will get even stouter with Buckners arrival. Plus, hell be working with Reich, a creative play-caller and former NFL quarterback who watched Rivers use his unique throwing motion to complete 4,908 of 7,591 passes with 59,271 yards, 397 touchdowns and 198 interceptions.

Rivers ranks sixth in league history in completions, yards passing and TD passes and seventh in attempts and is 123-101 as an NFL starter. He hasnt missed a start since 2005.

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Report: Colts agree to 1-year deal with QB Philip Rivers - Waterbury Republican American

Again, they insisted that austerity was essential because government debt was an enormous threat to America. But they lost all interest in deficits as soon as one of their own occupied the White House. Trump inherited a $600 billion deficit; hes blown that up to $1 trillion and hardly a single Republican in Congress has expressed dismay.

How much have Trumps deficits boosted the economy? Well, theyre poorly designed stimulus; the biggest item was tax cuts for corporations, which corporations used to buy back stock rather than to expand their businesses or raise wages. But while the Trump stimulus probably didnt deliver much bang per buck, it involved a heck of a lot of bucks.

And Trumps economy also gets a lift from the fact that Republicans have ended the de facto economic sabotage that prevailed throughout the Obama years.

Incidentally, the experience of the past three years also refutes two of the main arguments used to justify the disastrous turn to austerity after the financial crisis claims that deficits would hurt confidence and lead to a sharp rise in interest rates. None of this has happened.

So how can Democrats run against Republican fiscal hypocrisy? Not by warning about the dangers of deficits thats both wrong on the substance and politically ineffective, because nobody cares.

They might do better by pointing out that while Trump has rushed to cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy, he has been shortchanging the future. Ignoring his campaign promises, he has done nothing to raise much-needed spending on infrastructure. And despite its obvious indifference to budget deficits, his administration seems determined to deprive children of the adequate health care and nutrition they will need to become productive adults.

And theres an important lesson for Democrats going beyond this election namely, how to deal with what Ive called the Very Serious People, centrists who spent years insisting that government debt was the most important issue of our time (and also believing, or pretending to believe, that Republicans were sincere in their supposed concern about debt).

The V.S.P.s have gone oddly silent under Trump funny how that works but theyll surely be back if Democrats retake the White House. But they have no idea what theyre talking about, and never did. If and when they re-emerge, Democrats should ignore them.

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Republican Cynicism May Win Trump Re-election - The New York Times

The number of Republican women in the U.S. House declined in the past decade and many statehouses dont fare much better. Standing in contrast is the rising number of Democratic women elected to office.

It is a sentiment that doesnt sit well with some Utah women.

Thats ridiculous, said Enid Mickelsen, the first female Republican from the Beehive State elected to the U.S. House.

She served one term starting in 1995. No women from Utah, Republican or Democratic, are serving in Congress now. In Utah, one of the most conservative states in the nation, the Legislature includes 16 Democratic women and 10 Republican women.

Those stats cloud reality, argues Kari Malkovich, a Woodland Hills city councilwoman and first vice president of the Utah Federation of Republican Women. She said a more accurate snapshot would include the GOP women involved at all levels of government.

Malkovich pointed to Republican women serving in city councils and campaigns and executive offices, such as Kirsten Rappleye, chief of staff to the lieutenant governor, and Kristen Cox, executive director of the Governors Office of Management and Budget.

Republican women are not an endangered species, said Kendra Seeley, Utah Republican Party secretary.

About 30 women joined Seeley and the Utah Federation of Republican Women on Monday in the Capitol Rotunda for an event held in reaction to the December opinion piece in The New York Times that described the future of Republican women as bleak. That column, written by Nancy L. Cohen, blames the presidency of Donald Trump for blunting any momentum GOP women had. She warned that his reelection would make things even worse.

The Republican women who gathered in Utah on Monday say thats not the case.

We are refuting that there is a weakness in Republican women, Malkovich said.

If youre just looking at the numbers, Malliga Och, an Idaho State University assistant professor whos researched women in conservative parties, said calling it a crisis is a fair characterization.

But Och said she doesnt think theres an ideological crisis because there are plenty of conservative women who would make brilliant and great legislators, but the problem is that they are not running."

The main hurdle for Republican women is in the primary process, according to Och. The Republican Party doesnt have the same level of proactive recruiting and fundraising efforts directed toward women as the Democratic Party, she said.

Republican Rep. Candice Pierucci said shed like to examine places such as Alaska and Arizona, which have a higher number of Republican women serving in the state Legislature than the national average, to see what can we do better. To get more Utah women in positions, Republicans have to build up our bench like you would with any sport."

Conservative women can and should run," Pierucci said.

If you dont see women in these positions, though, it can be hard to picture yourself in them, Pierucci said. Only two women have been elected to Utahs five statewide executive offices, and just four women have served in Congress, according to the Utah Women and Leadership Project. The last being GOP Rep. Mia Love, who was edged out by Democrat Ben McAdams in 2018.

If youre going to change what comes out of D.C., youve got to change who goes into D.C.," Witt said. And the quickest way to change that is get more Republican women in Congress.

The more women that we can get involved in executive level and legislative level positions to help make those decisions, the better, said Aimee Winder Newton, who is one of two Republican women running for Utah governor, along with businesswoman Jan Garbett.

Jennifer Hogge, Lisa Bagley and Lorraine Brown were a few of the Republican women at the Capitol who said they are seeking seats in the state Legislature. Hogge said shes never run for office before but felt she could use her experience as a teacher to work on education issues.

To get more women on the ballot, Seeley, the secretary of Utahs Republican Party, suggested people must encourage more women to step forward.

Support good women who do run," she said, not just because theyre females, but because you believe in them.

Generally, Republicans try to be careful to avoid identity politics, said Pierucci, who claimed her House seat after the incumbent resigned. Salt Lake County Republican delegates selected her and Gov. Gary Herbert formally appointed her to the post. Shes serving in her first session.

Pierucci wanted people to vote for her based on her credentials, not because shes female, she said.

Thats a point that Mickelsen makes about her race in 1994.

I didnt set out to become the first woman Republican elected to Congress from the state of Utah, she said. I presented myself because I thought I was a good, qualified candidate.

My attitude was always if I do the best job that I can and show people that I am qualified, that helps the next woman coming up behind me."

While theres still more work to do, Mickelsen sees more women in office today than when she ran 25 years ago. And, in the future, more will come," she said.

For Och, the Idaho State professor, part of why Republicans should elect more women is simply fairness, to better represent the population. But another reason is that to have gender equity in government, we cannot just elect one specific kind of woman," she said.

Women are not a homogenous bloc. They have different opinions," Och said. And if we truly believe in this diversity that women bring, we need to elect a diverse body of women to the party, to both parties, and not just pro-life Democratic women, but also more conservative women.

Becky Jacobs is a Report for America corps member and writes about the status of women in Utah for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by clicking here.

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Utah Republican women say they need to recruit candidates, but they're not in 'crisis' - Salt Lake Tribune

Jeff Gorman is the past chair of the Monterey County Republican Party and a small business owner. He is running, for the first time, for the U.S. House of Representatives. Hes vying for the 20th Congressional District seat. The district includes Monterey and San Benito Counties, and parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties.

Gorman is the only Republican running against incumbent Democrat Jimmy Panetta and Democrat Adam Bolaos Scow.

The top two vote-getters on Super Tuesday will advance to the November election.

KAZU News recently spoke with Gorman at the Monterey County Republican Party Headquarters, where supporters had gathered to watch President Donald Trumps State of the Union Address. Here are some highlights from that conversation.

Michelle Loxton (ML): So why do you want this job?

Jeff Gorman (JG): Well, I care very deeply for the country and the traditions of the United States. I love the country. So I really want to make sure our community here, the Central Coast Congressional District, has an alternative to the powers in force now. I strongly disagree with the direction that Gavin Newsom and Nancy Pelosi are going. And so my hope is to put put a vision out there that people can ponder and consider of a different America. Put forward Republican principles in a way that's appealing to all Americans. Sacramento has passed thousands of laws a year for many years now and it's it's causing problems in our economy. California is not enjoying the economic success that the rest of the country is. Let's just slow down and make fewer laws, but better laws.

ML: If you were to choose one. What do you think is the most important issue facing this district right now?

JG: I think the most important thing affecting our district here now is, I would almost say an identity crisis. Like an embracing of the American spirit, a love of country, and that "can-do" attitude. Those are all good things. But they just don't seem to be thriving here the way I would like to see them thrive. Federal government has the sole domain over citizenship and immigration, and yet California legislators have grandstanded on their sanctuary state status and they're... they're scoffing federal law.

ML: How would you go about solving something like that?

JG: Solving the identity crisisI think that's the best way to put it. Look at what love of country means and consider love.

ML: Gorman then brought up the ongoing series of stories by the New York Times Magazine about the origins of slavery in the U.S.

JG: And when I hear people like The New York Times talk about the 400 years of tyranny, you know, and racism, I just think they're dredging up the past and they're doing it in a way that's really not based in love. And what can be done is just have the candid conversation, but not I don't want to upset people any more than necessary, but I need to speak my mind. And I think if I do that, it'll help other people have happy Thanksgivings.

ML: I then asked Gorman about some very specific issues on the minds of voters. First, about healthcare.

JG: So when it comes to health care, the right to health care is something I'm... I'm talking to people about and hearing people use. And I equate it to the right to self-defense or the right to education. Yeah, you have the right. But that doesn't mean that the government's going to give you a gun because you have the right to self-defense. It doesn't mean that we're going to put a chip in your brain and make you smart. Youre going to have to work to be smart. I'm concerned that socialized medicine, especially during the transition, will make medical professionals feel enslaved and feel taken advantage of by the system.

ML: I also asked Gorman about his stance on immigration reform.

JG: Comprehensive immigration reform is such a big thing. It's very difficult to wrap your arms around it completely. There's already laws on the books. If we follow the laws and we need certain things, then we can make those changes. But if you start to make big changes that legalize people that have already been committing crime for 20 years people are concerned that we'll just create this magnet for people coming here thinking they can scoff at our laws and its lawlessness.

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The Race For The House The Republican - 90.3 KAZU

She picked a perfect year to run against him, Cammarano said. That district voted very strongly for Trump in 2016, and its likely to do that again. People split their ballots far less than they did 30 years ago. He should be quaking in his boots.

In House District 15, Democrats do outnumber Republicans -- 25 percent to 16 percent. But 59 percent of the voters in this slice of western Cranston are unaffiliated, according to the secretary of states office.

And while Rhode Island is a blue state, House District 15 had a distinctly red hue in the last presidential race.

In 2016, 55 percent of District 15 voted for Trump, compared to 40 percent for Democrat Hillary Clinton. And some parts of the district were even more pro-Trump: 62 percent of the precinct that votes at the Cranston Christian Fellowship Church supported Trump.

Providence College political science Professor Adam S. Myers said research shows people overwhelmingly vote for state legislators who are in the same party as the person they choose for president.

In general, people dont follow state politics all that closely -- most dont even know who their state representative or senator is, he said. They need some kind of shortcut for voting, and that shortcut is party.

Cammarano said its also a good time to challenge Mattiello because he finds himself at the center of multiple controversies.

Regardless of whether he has done anything wrong, its like Chinese water torture where the accusations and revelations add up and have a cumulative effect that over time can definitely hurt a party leader like him, he said.

What are those controversies? Well, one involves a grand jury thats investigating whether Mattiello ordered an audit of the Rhode Island Convention Center Authority as retribution: A friend of his had been suspended from his job heading Convention Center security. House Republican Leader Blake A. Filippi has filed a lawsuit, claiming Mattiello violated the law by ordering the audit without the approval of the full five-member Joint Committee on Legislative Services. Mattiello has denied it was meant as retaliation, but he has since called off the audit.

Meanwhile, Mattiello might have to testify in a money-laundering case brought against political strategist Jeffrey T. Britt in connection with Mattiellos 2016 re-election campaign.

Fenton-Fung, who is married to Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung, referenced those controversies in announcing that she had filed paperwork with the state Board of Elections to run for the House District 15 seat.

In response to a near tsunami of support in Cranston to end what has become the Mattiello horror show, this allows us to legally take the logical next steps to start fundraising and putting a winning team in place prior to formally launching a campaign, Fenton-Fung said. We are extremely excited about what 2020 has in store, including ridding District 15 of the never-ending scandals that surround its state representative.

Fenton-Fung, 39, works as a physical therapist at Rhode Island Hospital. She served as chairwoman of the Rhode Island Young Republicans and as executive director of the Young Republican National Federation. She said the late state senator June Gibbs encouraged her interest in politics, and she met her future husband at the 2012 Republican National Convention when her wayward umbrella smacked him in the head.

Mattiello, who has represented House District 15 since 2007, issued a statement Monday, saying, I look forward to the continued honor of representing the citizens of House District 15 and intend to run on my strong record of accomplishment and leadership for the district and the City of Cranston.

He noted he has pushed to phase out the automobile excise tax and the income tax for many Social Security recipients. He cited increased education aid, economic development initiatives, and school safety measures. And he said hell fight the governors attempt to reduce municipal funding.

It's a privilege to serve as an advocate for the city of Cranston in this fight, Mattiello said, and unquestionably, my focus always has been and will continue to be on how I can best represent my constituents.

Frias, the Republican National Committeeman for Rhode Island who lost to Mattiello in the 2016 and 2018, issued a statement saying he plans to support Fenton-Fung.

I was a reluctant candidate in both my races against the Speaker, in particular the second time I ran, Frias said. I have been aware for some time of Mrs. Fungs interest in running for the District 15 seat, and I have not discouraged her. Assuming the Speaker even runs again, despite the swirl of scandal and possibility he may be indicted, I expect to be supporting Mrs. Fung over the Speaker in November."

In an interview, Frias said House District 15 is one of the parts of the country that swung from President Barack Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016. In a district that went for Trump by that margin in 2016, a Republican should be able to run a credible race against an incumbent Democrat, he said.

The House District 15 race is different than most because of the amount of resources Mattiello has and the amount of favors he does, Frias said. But, he said, whats occurring more and more is that federal races are affecting state and local races. And that could bode well for the latest Republican to challenge the Speaker.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com

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This could be the perfect year for a Republican to challenge R.I.s most powerful Democrat - The Boston Globe