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GREENVILLE, S.C. (TEGNA) South Carolina does not have a Republican primary this year, so a couple of groups are urging Republicans to vote in this Saturday's Democratic primary in hopes of giving President Donald Trump an opponent he can beat. Who that is depends on who you ask, but at least one group has a specific target in mind.

The Chicago Tribune reports a group called Trump 229 is urging Republicans to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Karen Martin, who the Greenville News says has been promoting an effort to get people to vote for Sanders, said a victory by the Vermont senator would hurt Vice President Joe Biden. Biden has said that South Carolina is his firewall given his support among African-Americans. But polls in recent days have shown Sanders is within striking distance.

Martin also reportedly said Sanders as the nominee would benefit Trump as it would give voters a clear contrast of ideas, something she believes helps the president.

A separate initiative called "Operation Chaos 2020" is holding an online poll to determine the "craziest liberal looney" that voters should support. As of Tuesday morning, Sen. Elizabeth Warren had 50 percent of the vote, followed by Andrew Yang who is no longer running at 46 percent and Sanders at 4 percent.

"Operation Chaos" is run by the Conservative Defense Fund. The name comes from an initiative credited to conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh in 2008 to get Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton in the primaries against Barack Obama. The idea was to extend the process as long as possible to hurt the eventual nominee. While the primary fight did go all the way to the convention, there is no way to know how much of that was due to Limbaugh's efforts.

The South Carolina Republican Party canceled its primary this year, choosing to give Trump its delegates by default. South Carolina is an open primary state. Voters can choose to take part in either the Democratic or Republican primary regardless of their affiliation, but they can't vote in both. So Republicans who don't have to vote for their party this year are free to vote in the Democratic primary.

Contrast that with Washington state, where voters who get their primary ballot in the mail have to check whether they are voting in the Democratic or Republican primary.

That is reportedly also part of the reason behind "Operation Chaos" to get the state to go to a closed primary system and end the ability for voters to cross over and affect the other party's primary.

Continued here:
'Operation Chaos': Republicans urged to vote in SC Democratic primary to help Trump - WTHR

Attorney General William Barr is expected to try to convince senators to vote to reauthorize provisions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which are set to expire next month. Leah Millis/AP hide caption

Attorney General William Barr is expected to try to convince senators to vote to reauthorize provisions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which are set to expire next month.

Attorney General William Barr is scheduled to travel down Pennsylvania Avenue on Tuesday to make what could be a very difficult sales pitch to Senate Republicans.

Provisions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act are set to expire next month, and Barr is expected to try to convince senators to vote to reauthorize them.

Criticism of FISA is now mainstream among many Republicans and some Democrats after a thorny subplot from the Russia investigation.

This isn't the first time establishment figures have tried to sell members of Congress on supporting it over their own political instincts but the circumstances that led Barr to this visit may mean now is the toughest time in years to try to convince lawmakers.

One silver lining for the attorney general on his errand is that he at least has support from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The leader invited Barr to have lunch with the Republican conference weeks ago, according to one source familiar with the planning.

"Reauthorization of these certain programs is a priority for both Leader McConnell and AG Barr," the source said.

What's happening?

FISA is the legislation that permits national security officials to collect Americans' communications.

Congress first structured the authorities after President Richard Nixon's abuses and then expanded them after the 2001 terror attacks and some of those newer authorities have proven controversial ever since.

One way in which members of Congress were able to compromise on expanded surveillance authority was by including time limits, forcing themselves or their successors to reevaluate whether to preserve the powers they authorized.

Parts of FISA are set to expire in mid-March, unless Congress votes to revive them and then President Trump agrees by signing the legislation.

The provisions' original sunset date was in December, but members of Congress agreed on an extension establishing the new deadline.

Deputy Assistant FBI Director Michael Orlando appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee in November to advocate for the reauthorization; here's how he detailed the aspects of the law in question and said why the bureau considered them so important.

What's controversial about the legislation?

FISA always has had its skeptics.

Civil libertarians in both parties worried about giving the government too much power to conduct surveillance. And more recently, the Russia investigation has amplified the worries of those who argued that what they call unscrupulous investigators can too easily exploit a permissive law and violate some American's rights.

Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz concluded that some FBI and Justice Department officials did exactly that in the case of a former campaign aide of Trump's, Carter Page.

The bureau and the department also were rebuked by the secret court that overseas surveillance cases in a black eye for federal law enforcement that followed months of scourging by Trump's allies in the Russia imbroglio.

The Russia investigation was opened and conducted mostly properly, the investigation found, and its conclusions weren't questioned. But what the Page subplot exposed, critics said, was that the kind of FISA abuse that earlier may have been believed only theoretical had, in fact, actually happened.

"If the American people hear this, and they say 'this can happen against a campaign, for the presidency of the United States' what happens in an ordinary FISA case?" asked Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., in a Senate hearing about the Page investigation.

Barr and FBI Director Christopher Wray have vowed to change investigators' practices to prevent incorrect or incomplete information from reaching a FISA judge as it did in the Page case.

But the lingering controversy over the law, combined with the Page example and following months of charges about "spying" on Trump's campaign and what critics call bias in federal law enforcement against Trump may have imperiled sufficient support among Republicans to reauthorize the sections that are due early next month.

Barr's goal is to try to change enough minds among the Senate's Republicans, who control the majority in the chamber.

What about Trump?

As the attorney general prepares to visit the Capitol it isn't immediately clear what kind of support exists for FISA there, and it also isn't clear what Trump is prepared to sign.

Trump signed legislation extending different aspects of FISA in 2018 after an earlier flap about whether aides of then-candidate Trump might have been swept up in American surveillance of foreigners during the election.

Trump said at the time he was willing to permit the authority to continue because of the case made by the intelligence establishment, led by then-Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, about the value it afforded to national security.

Today the DNI post is vacant, and although Trump has said he's choosing between a group of four nominees, there is no one to make the same kind of concerted sales pitch that Coats and his colleagues have in the past.

Barr appears to be taking on that burden.

Moreover, Trump has widened and deepened his attacks on the intelligence establishment and the "dirty cops" he's criticized within the FBI. "FISA" has become synonymous with overreach and abuse of power for the president and supporters.

Trump, meanwhile, was unmoved by Barr's pleas for him to keep silent about Justice Department business. So the attorney general must not only try to bring along skeptical Senate Republicans about reauthorizing the surveillance legislation; he may also need to convince his own boss.

Read more:
Barr Heads To Senate With His Work Cut Out: Selling Republicans On FISA - NPR

In an era of trillion-dollar deficits and onerous federal mandates, no political party has a monopoly on bad ideas. For example, we all know about the Democrats love for funneling taxpayer dollars into wind and solar energy boondoggles.

Republicans are now responding in kind with handouts to their own preferred clean projects. On Feb. 12, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, announced Republican bills that would launch a trillion trees gimmick and expand payouts to the already bloated carbon capture and sequestration industry. Leaders from both parties must take a stand against this endless corporate welfare and let taxpayers off the hook from costly green energy endeavors.

At the very least, most lawmakers on the right side of the aisle seem to recognize the many follies of subsidizing solar and wind technologies. Most green projects on the market rely on the hazardous extraction of rare earth minerals from developing nations, create power-intermittency issues, and are all but impossible to recycle.

But some of the alternatives proposed by the GOP are little more than science fiction. Carbon capture and sequestration technology is frequently touted by members of both parties as a solution to (already declining) carbon emissions, despite the findings of a 2019 study published in Energy and Environmental Science that say it reduces only a small fraction of carbon emissions, and it usually increases air pollution.

A gas-fired power station has to burn 16% more gas than it otherwise would to capture its own carbon. This is hardly a model of energy efficiency, but the technologys supporters wont let evidence or common sense thwart recently introduced legislation that would make permanent the tax credit for capture and sequestration projects and increase payouts by 25%. Even if this wacky technology could somehow save the planet (spoiler alert: it wont), backers such as Republican Reps. David Schweikert of Arizona and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio cant seem to explain why the beefed-up tax credit will make the approach viable after more than $1 billion in direct government financing from the Department of Energy failed to do so.

Other members of Congress pine for a prettier approach to combat climate change, proposing the planting of a trillion trees. Introduced by Rep. Bruce Westerman, an Arkansas Republican, the Trillion Trees Act would condition foreign aid on reforestation and create a National Reforestation Task Force that would create decadal planting targets.

This policy is irresponsible enough applied just to the United States, where an overconcentration of trees has led to devastating wildfires. In recent years, the government has made it far too difficult for harvesters to get anywhere near forests, leading to lax lumber liquidation in Americas lush forests. The results, according to Texas Public Policy Foundation Vice President Chuck DeVore, are predictable: As timber harvesting permit fees went up and environmental challenges multiplied, the people who earned a living felling and planting trees looked for other lines of work. The combustible fuel load in the forest predictably soared.

But at least the U.S. doesnt need to make life-altering trade-offs between preserving forests and feeding its citizenry. Because farmers in less-developed countries such as Mozambique must clear some of the countrys vast forests to grow crops and feed their families, foreign aid policies to incentivize reforestation could lead to tough choices and devastating consequences. Africa is a graveyard of failed, idealistic foreign aid programs, yet policymakers seemingly never learn their lesson in trying to heal the planet. Lawmakers must decide if they want a photo-op next to a handful of replanted trees or genuine solutions that prioritize both economy and ecology.

Market-friendly policies and strong property rights protections safeguard the planet, leading to historic prosperity and, yes, carbon emission reductions. Taxpayers need sensible, free market policies, not crony handouts and woke posturing by both parties.

Ross Marchand is the director of policy for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.

Read more from the original source:
Taxpayers beware: Republicans have their own green dreams - Washington Examiner

President

The only question in the Republican presidential primary is how many votes President Donald J. Trump will receive. It will probably be in the 90 percent range or above.

Joe Walsh has officially dropped out, but his name is still on the ballot, which means you can vote for him.

Bill Weld is the only other candidate officially still in the race, but it really isnt a race. Trump has high popularity ratings with all Republicans and is even more popular with the Republican base, which tend to vote in Republican primaries.

Mark Sanford announced he was running against Trump and nobody showed up for the announcement, which was not a good sign and he dropped out in November, so his name is not on the ballot. But if you are a big Sanford fan you could vote no preference.

US Senate

Sen. Thom Tillis is not going to win his race by as much as Trump but he should not have any trouble winning. When the 6th Congressional District was redrawn, making it nearly impossible for a Republican to win, there was talk that 6th District Congressman Mark Walker would take on Tillis and that would have been an interesting race. Walker decided not to run for anything in 2020 and Tillis has some challengers, but not of them have raised the money to run a statewide race.

Larry Holmquist is from Greensboro and ran against Sen. Richard Burr two years ago and received 4.9 percent of the vote in the Republican primary.

Paul Wright has run for governor, the US House in District 4 and twice in District 12 and the US Senate.

Sharon Hudson ran for the NC House in 2014 and received 14 percent of the vote in the Republican primary. She is opposed to the toll lanes on I-77, which she says Tillis pushed through the state House.

US House of Representatives District 6

Congressman Mark Walker decided not to run for a fourth term because he didnt think a Republican could win this race. If a Republican three-term incumbent cant win the race, the two Republicans in the primary really dont have much chance in November.

Lee Haywood from Summerfield has been very active in the Republican Party and before he filed was chair of the 6th District Republican Party and is the better choice in this race.

Laura Pichardo doesnt live in the 6th District. Shes a resident of Pelham in Caswell County, but congressional candidates dont have to live in their districts; the only requirement is that they live in the same state, so she is qualified to run.

NC Governor

Lt. Gov. Dan Forrest has won two statewide races for lieutenant governor. He is a strong conservative who has been outspoken on the issues.

Holly Grange has a great slogan, Duty-Honor-Carolina, but Forrest has a better chance of winning in November against the incumbent Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Forrest has been traveling the state for eight years as lieutenant governor, has a good organization and can raise the money necessary to take on and defeat a sitting governor.

As lieutenant governor, Forrest has been president of the state Senate for eight years, so he has far more experience working with the legislature than the past two governors. Considering what a mess Raleigh is right now, with Cooper refusing to negotiate a budget with the Republican legislature, it would be great to get someone in the governors mansion who knows how to work with the legislature.

NC Lieutenant Governor

In the Republican lieutenant governors race, nine Republicans are vying for the seat, which almost certainly means there will be a runoff.

There are a number of good candidates, but I think Republicans would be wise to send Mark Robinson to the general election. Robinson is from Greensboro and one of the best political speakers in the state. He gained international fame when a three-minute speech he made to the Greensboro City Council on gun control went viral. Robinson said he came to the meeting to listen, not planning to speak.

Robinson is a strong conservative and is the only black candidate in the Republican primary race.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson won a statewide race against a Democratic incumbent in 2016, which makes him a formidable candidate. He has taken on the education establishment as state superintendent and no doubt would do the same as lieutenant governor.

State Sen. Andy Wells from Hickory, is in his third term in the state Senate and served one term in the state House. He is running ads advocating against sanctuary sheriffs and touts the economic success of the state due to the Republican tax cuts.

Scott Stone served in the NC House from 2016 to 2018. In 2015 he ran for mayor of Charlotte. He also touts the Republican economic plan for the state and emphasizes his successful business career and the ability to raise money for a statewide campaign.

Buddy Bengal is a former minor league baseball player who now owns a minor league team. Hes also a good speaker but its a difficult race to get much traction.

Also running are Greg Gebhardt, former Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, Deborah Cochran and John Ritter.

NC Attorney General

Three Republicans are vying for the chance to run against Democratic NC Attorney General Josh Stein in November. Stein beat Republican Buck Newton in 2016 by 0.6 percent of the vote. So, in 2016, nearly half the voters in the state thought it was time to have a Republican attorney general.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim ONeill, Executive Director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence Christine Mumma and Sam Hayes in private practice are all running for the nomination.

ONeill has been the district attorney for Forsyth County since 2009, ran for attorney general in 2016 and lost in the Republican primary.

ONeill ran a good race in 2016 and appears to have the resources to run a successful statewide campaign in November.

He says he wants to make the attorney generals office less political and concentrate on the legal, not the political, issues and notes that he is the only one in the race who has actually prosecuted cases.

Mumma has to be considered an outsiders outsider. Her organization takes on cases where they believe people have been convicted of crimes they didnt commit and proves their innocence. She is a strong conservative and says she wants to go in and shake up the attorney generals office to get it back to doing what it should be doing.

Hayes worked as general counsel for the NC treasurers office and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources when Pat McCrory was governor. He touts his experience as having worked for a state agency.

ONeill and Mumma are far ahead in the free publicity category, each accusing the other of misleading ads.

Mumma would certainly bring changes to the attorney generals office. She would also be the first female attorney general.

ONeill is a prosecutor who has run the district attorneys office in Winston-Salem for over 20 years.

In this case, when choosing the chief law enforcement officer for the state, it seems to make sense to pick someone with experience in law enforcement, which is ONeill.

NC Auditor

Two Republicans are running for state auditor and the one with the more difficult name to spell, Tim Hoegemeyer, is by far the better choice

Hoegemeyer worked in the state auditors office for 12 years under two state auditors and was the head of the Fraud, Waste and Abuse Investigative Division.

He is an attorney and has a masters in public administration.

His opponent, Anthony Street, is on the Soil and Water Board of Brunswick County and is a small farmer.

NC Insurance Commissioner

Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey won the job in 2016 on his fifth attempt and set about bringing some reform to the office.

The NC insurance commissioner is usually an office that is not seen or heard, but Causey has been involved in two high profile cases. He worked with the FBI to get Greg Lindberg indicted when Lindberg allegedly attempted to bribe Causey. He also went public with the driving while impaired (DWI) and child abuse charges against the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield, Patrick Conway, something that mammoth insurance company was trying to keep under wraps. Conway was forced to resign when his actions became public.

Causey is doing a good job and deserves a second term.

His opponent, Ronald Pierce, has a long time grudge against former Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, who had 108 charges of fraud filed against Pierce. The charges against Pierce, a Charlotte contractor, were dismissed, but Pierce hasnt forgotten them.

NC Commission of Labor

One of the most recognizable names and faces in North Carolina, Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry, is retiring. If you dont recognize the name, you havent been alone in many elevators lately. Berrys name and photo are in every elevator in the state.

Three Republicans are running to replace Berry, who has held the office for 20 years. Berry has endorsed former state representative and current member of the UNC Board of Governors Pearl Burris Floyd.

Those who worked with her in the legislature have high praise for Burris Floyd who says that Berry is her political mentor.

State Rep. Josh Dobson from McDowell County is chairman of the House Health and Appropriations Committee and has endorsements from Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler and Congressman Mark Meadows.

Chuck Stanley, who manages a construction company in Columbus County, doesnt appear to be running a viable statewide campaign.

Both Dobson and Burris Floyd seem to be good candidates, but the endorsement goes to Burris Floyd.

NC Secretary of State

Whoever wins the Republican primary has to go up against Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who has been in the job since she defeated NASCAR legend Richard Petty in 1996.

Michael LaPaglia ran against Marshall in 2016 and lost with a respectable 48 percent of the vote, and he wants a second chance. One of his big issues in 2016 was the accusation that Marshall allowed illegal immigrants to become notary publics. Marshall claims a Supreme Court decision doesnt allow citizenship as a qualification.

E.C. Sykes is running a whale of a campaign for an office that most people dont realize exists. Through Dec. 31, he had raised over $200,000, which is a tough chore when there is so much competition for campaign money. During the same period, LaPaglia had raised a little over $7,000.

Sykes has also lined up impressive endorsements, including the Family Research Council, Dr. James Dobson, Sen. Ted Cruz and Greensboros own Clarence Henderson.

Chad Brown, a Gaston County commissioner and former minor league baseball player, is running an interesting campaign but he also hasnt raised the money for a competitive statewide race.

To win against Marshall is going to take money and statewide appeal. It appears that Sykes has the best chance.

NC Superintendent of Public Instruction

Two Republicans are vying for the seat left open when Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson decided to run for lieutenant governor instead of running for reelection.

Johnson has proven how tough it is for a Republican to work with the state education bureaucracy, and State Sen. Horn has a reputation for being tough. He is also serving as chairman of five different education committees in the state legislature, so he knows the state public education system.

Catherine Truitt was a teacher and served as a senior advisor on education for Gov. Pat McCrory. So she also knows education and has some experience in state government.

In this case, Horn has more experience in state government and knows how the battles in Raleigh are fought. Horn is the better choice.

NC House District 59

NC House of Representatives District 59 has Allen Chappell challenging incumbent District 59 Rep. Jon Hardister, who is running for his fifth term.

Hardister is serving his fourth term in the House and is currently the majority whip, which is the number three leadership position. Two years ago, he was redistricted out of his district and moved to Whitsett so he could run. Hes worked hard for Guilford County and has been conscientious about getting out in the community and listening to constituents.

Chappell, from Liberty, doesnt appear to have any big issues with the way Hardister has represented the district. According to a campaign website, Chappells biggest issues are providing better internet connectivity for rural areas, better highway maintenance and better fire, rescue and police response.

Hardister continues to do a good job and deserves another term.

NC House District 60

Two Republicans are running for the NC House of Representatives District 60 seat, which is currently held by Rep. Cecil Brockman. House District 60 leans far left, which will make it extremely difficult for either Frank Ragsdale or Ryan Blankenship to win, and is perhaps why they both disagree with the Republican Party on major issues.

Both are in favor of higher teacher pay increases than those passed with bipartisan support in the legislature, and Blankenship is in favor of raising taxes to pay for those raises.

Ragsdale sides with Gov. Roy Cooper and against the Republican legislature on the issue of Medicaid expansion.

Ragsdale gets the nod in this one because he seems slightly more conservative, or at least he isnt in favor of raising taxes.

Guilford County Board of Commissioners District 5

Two candidates are running for the District 5 seat on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, which is open because Guilford County Commissioner and current Chairman Jeff Phillips is not running for reelection.

Phillips has endorsed his employee Cyndy Hayworth to replace him. Hayworth ran for the Greensboro City Council in 2007 and 2011. She has served on a number of appointed boards for Greensboro and Guilford County.

In 2015, she served as director of operations and interim chief executive officer of Downtown Greensboro Inc., at a time when DGI was awash in controversy and the City Council was threatening to withdraw some of its funding.

Before that, Hayworth was the executive director of Junior Achievement and worked for Mike Weaver.

Troy Lawson has been endorsed by 6th District Congressman Mark Walker and was the chairman of the Guilford County Republican Party from 2017 to 2019, serving as its first African-American chair. In 2018, at the urging of the North Carolina Republican Party, Lawson ran unsuccessfully for the NC state House District 57 seat while still serving as chairman.

Lawson has a bachelors degree from Boston College and an MBA from Strayer University. He has worked in higher education and nonprofit management.

See more here:
Rhino Times Republican Endorsements - The Rhino Times of Greensboro - The Rhino TImes

Republican voters have moved on from the Affordable Care Act, shifting their focus and opposition instead toward Medicare for All.

By the numbers: In our latest Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll, 19% of registered Republicans said opposition to Medicare for All is their top health care issue, compared to just 3% who said the same for opposition to the ACA.

Republicans top issue overall is the same as the overall publics: Reducing health care costs.

Yes, but: This does not mean attempts to repeal the ACA are over.

Between the lines: The ACA s popularity is at a high point 55% support and 37% oppose it and many of its provisions are popular across partisan lines.

Whats next: If Sen. Bernie Sanders is the Democratic nominee, the focus on Medicare for All and the ensuing partisan warfare on health will intensify.

Read this article:
Republican voters have moved on from hating the ACA - Axios