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Former President Barack Obama on Thursday remembered Dan Rooney as a great friend of mine, but more importantly, he was a great friend to the people of Pittsburgh, a model citizen, and someone who represented the United States with dignity and grace on the world stage.

The relationship between Mr. Rooney and Mr. Obama began late on a cold January night in 2008 when Mr. Rooney a lifelong Republican saw Mr. Obama deliver a speech following his victory in the Iowa caucuses.

This is the greatest speech Ive seen since John Kennedy, Mr. Rooney told his son, Jim, in a midnight phone conversation. He convinced me that this is more than just a good politician. I want to stand up and say something for this guy. I want to be involved in this.

Mr. Rooney would go on to publicly endorse Mr. Obama after meeting him during an April event at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Six months later, barely a week before the election, Mr. Rooney introduced the candidate at a packed rally in Civic Arena.

Shortly after being inaugurated as president on St. Patricks Day, no less Mr. Obama showed his appreciation to his newfound friend by tapping Mr. Rooney as U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

Despite his lack of political experience, few questioned Mr. Rooneys qualifications for the job. His family came from the Northern Ireland border town of Newry, and he had long been an advocate of Irish cause. In 1976, he and Tony OReilly, then president and CEO of H.J. Heinz Co., co-founded The American Ireland Fund, raising hundreds of millions of dollars to further peace efforts and other charitable Irish causes. Mr. Rooney and his wife, Patricia, also created the annual Rooney Prize for Irish Literature to recognize young Irish writers.

Mr. Rooneys Senate confirmation was a mere formality.

Anybody who would vote against Dan Rooney for ambassador will do so at their peril, said Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., before the meeting. The sooner theres an Ambassador Rooney in Dublin, the better off well be. ... Hes not a political appointee.

Confirmed in July 2009, Mr. Rooney tackled the job with enthusiasm, becoming the first U.S. ambassador to visit all 32 counties in Ireland, including the North, with his wife, Patricia, by his side. He held a town hall meeting during each visit, and in May 2011 accompanied Mr. Obama during the presidents visit to Dublin.

Upon leaving the foreign service office in 2012, Mr. Rooney called the time in Ireland a tremendous experience.

I have had a lifelong commitment to advancing the relationship between the American and Irish people and building peace on this beautiful island, but came unexpectedly into politics and diplomacy, Mr. Rooney wrote in an op-ed piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Ours is not a foreign relationship between two countries; our relationship is a shared kinship between two great peoples.

I knew hed do a wonderful job, Mr. Obama said in his remembrance Thursday. But naturally, he surpassed my high expectations, and I know the people of Ireland think fondly of him today. And I know the people of Pittsburgh, who loved him not only for the Super Bowl championships he brought as the owner of the Steelers, but for his generosity of spirit, mourn his passing today.

Michelle and I offer our condolences to the Rooney family, some of the most gracious and thoughtful people we know even as we celebrate the life of Dan Rooney: a championship-caliber good man.

Dan Majors: dmajors@post-gazette.com.

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Obama remembers lifelong Republican Dan Rooney - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

With the House in recess from April 11 to April 20, many representatives have returned to their respective districts to hold town halls and hear the voices of local constituents.

However, these constituents have come armed with lists of complaints, hoping that their representatives will take their thoughts and opinions into account when they return to the Capitol.

Since the beginning of the recess, several House GOP members have faced crowds of angry, vocal constituents at these town hall meetings. Below are a few examples, as reported by AP, of House Republicans who have faced town hall goers described as boisterous, heated and critical:

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MESA, Ariz. U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs was met with applause and boos at the Arizona Republicans first town hall meeting since taking office in January.

Biggs addressed topics such as health care and climate change during his town hall in Mesa Tuesday, which was attended by approximately 600 people. Some attendees said there was not enough time for everyones questions.

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Republican lawmakers are getting grilled by constituents at town halls across the country. CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports on the vocal Trump oppo...

Constituents from Biggs 5th Congressional District in southeastern metro Phoenix had been asking Biggs to hold the meeting.

In February, police were called to Biggs office in Mesa during a rally hosted by a group of protesters who said the representative did not make himself available to his voters.

Boos erupted from the crowd, filled with liberal and conservative constituents, when Biggs said he was skeptical of scientists who believe in human-caused global warming after reading reports from both sides.

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TROY, Ohio An Ohio town hall for the Republican who succeeded former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner in Congress got heated as a small but vocal group reacted to his comments on issues from the Environmental Protection Agency to Planned Parenthood.

The protesters were eventually forced to leave after about an hour of vocal opposition to Rep. Warren Davidson.

The Dayton Daily News reports that the protest group was chanting we the people as they left the room Tuesday night in Troy, about 68 miles (109 kilometers) north of Cincinnati. Although protesters voiced their disapproval, the majority of the 250-seat town hall was supportive of Davidson, with many wearing Trump stickers.

Davidson won a special election in the western Ohio district seat after Boehner resigned from the House in 2015.

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DENVER It was one of the most exclusive tickets in town: Only 800 were made available, and those lucky enough to score one had to show photo ID at the gate, where they were issued a wristband and a number. No signs bigger than a sheet of notebook paper were allowed, so as not to obscure anyones view.

The rules werent for a rock concert but for a town hall meeting Wednesday evening between Republican Rep. Mike Coffman and his suburban Denver constituents.

Town halls have become a risky proposition for GOP members of Congress since President Donald Trumps election. Liberal groups and constituents angry about the Trump agenda have flooded public meetings, asking their representatives tough questions, chanting, heckling them and even shouting them down in skirmishes that have made for embarrassing online video.

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Many members of Congress are facing heated questions from constituents at town hall meetings in their districts. More than 2,000 people showed up...

On Monday, for example, South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson, who became infamous for yelling You lie! at President Barack Obama during a speech to Congress in 2009, was himself confronted at a town hall by constituents chanting, You lie!

As a result, some Republicans arent holding town halls. And some of those who are going ahead with such events are taking steps to keep things from getting out of control.

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn faced tough questions and jeers during his first town hall meeting of the year in Colorado Springs.

The Gazette reports that more than 140 people packed into a room at a police substation for Wednesdays raucous meeting with the Republican lawmaker, including dozens of anti-Trump activists. At least 40 people waited outside, unable to fit in the room.

Whenever Lamborn referred to Obamacare, some in the crowd would shout back its official name Affordable Care Act or ACA.

Lamborn said long distance work was still being done by members of Congress on health care during the current recess.

After the meeting, Lamborn said he enjoyed it, calling it democracy in action. He is holding meetings in Canon City and Cripple Creek on Thursday.

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FLANDERS, N.J. New Jersey Republican Rep. Leonard Lance faced skeptical and boisterous voters Wednesday night who said they would be voting him out of office when he held his first town hall since the GOP effort to replace the Affordable Care Act failed.

Lance met with hundreds of constituents in his northern New Jersey district at Mount Olive High School in Flanders. It was his third town hall since Republican President Donald Trump was inaugurated in January.

The event came while lawmakers are on their Easter and Passover recess, with Trumps approval ratings flagging and after the presidents health care legislation fell apart last month thanks in part to Republicans like Lance who said they opposed it.

Unlike the previous events where protesters carried signs and held makeshift rallies outside the event, Wednesdays town hall had fewer people and placards, though police blocked people from taking them inside the auditorium.

Lance, who was first elected in 2008, was booed loudly when he said he supported blocking federal funding for abortion. He was also booed after he told voters President Barack Obama should have tried to work with Congress more on regulations, which led to an outburst from the audience that got Lances attention.

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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. An Oklahoma congressman canceled one of several planned town hall meetings in his district, citing safety concerns as his reason for not meeting with voters, who have been venting at Republican officials at such events in recent months.

U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin planned a stop Tuesday night at a high school in Tahlequah, about 145 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. But the three-term GOP congressman, who has been shouted down at recent town hall meetings, canceled the event shortly before the start.

In a statement, Mullin mentioned an escalation of protesters at recent town halls throughout the country and said he needs to provide a safe environment for all attendees. Mullin has planned 26 town halls in his district during Congress recess.

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House Republicans on recess face angry constituents at local town halls - CBS News

Posted by Ken Fine on Thu, Apr 13, 2017 at 6:28 PM Well confess to not knowing much about state Representative William Brawley of Mecklenburg County at the moment, other than that the bills hes sponsored suggest hes a fairly mainstream Republican. But his response to the Larry Pittman Lincolngate fiascoPittman, youll recall, wrote on Facebook that the Civil War was unconstitutional and Lincoln was a "tyrant" like Adolf Hitlerearned him points.

Take it away:

The fact that another Republican took a stand against Pittman's comparison of Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler when House Speaker Tim Moore and the N.C. GOP have remained silent.

The glasses Honest Abe is rocking.

The use of "W/" when "WITH" would have fit just fine.

But it's the hashtag we're really digging. So come on, everyone. Let's get #NCForLincoln trending, shall we?

Tags: Hitler, Abraham Lincoln, ncpol, statehouse, republican, top, Larry Pittman, Facebook, scandal, Image

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In Larry Pittman's Hitler/Lincoln Fiasco, One Republican Wins - The Independent Weekly

New York Times

Syria, North Korea, Republican Party: Your Wednesday Briefing New York Times Flight operations on the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, which has been sent to the Korean Peninsula. President Trump is seeking Chinese help in deterring North Korean weapons tests. Credit Matt Brown/U.S. Navy, via Associated Press. (Want to get this ... and more »

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Syria, North Korea, Republican Party: Your Wednesday Briefing - New York Times

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There are only so many hours in the day or neurons in our minds to devote to politics, but it's nonetheless important that we raise our sights above the daily displays of the Trump administration's bumper-car incompetence to take in the bigger picture. When we do, it becomes clear that Trump's highly personalistic, anti-ideological presidency is an expression of a much broader trend in the GOP namely the thoroughgoing dissolution of the party's ideological coherence.

This breakdown in unity and consistency within the Republican Party can be seen across a range of issues. Over time it will render the party increasingly incapable of governing and most likely prepare the way for a much more dramatic shift in the party's direction in 2020 or beyond.

Health care. The House Freedom Caucus wants to gut ObamaCare, including provisions that force insurance companies to cover "essential health benefits" (like maternity care, hospitalization, and mental health services) and preclude them from charging more for consumers based on their gender or medical history. In place of these provisions, the HFC prefers a market-based system that would supposedly lower costs and increase efficiency and innovation while leaving millions fewer covered by health insurance. Party moderates, meanwhile, including the so-called "Tuesday Group" in the House, would prefer more marginal adjustments to the Affordable Care Act. Adding to the chaos, a recent poll shows that a plurality of Republican voters favor a single-payer system that most of the party's elected officials, as well as nearly all of its lobbyists and activists, passionately denounce as "socialized medicine," and which many Democrats consider too left wing to touch.

Taxes. Since Ronald Reagan, promises to cut taxes have formed the core of the GOP's appeal to voters. But today, the agenda has fallen into disarray. Some, like Grover Norquist and assorted billionaire funders, want cuts, cuts, and more cuts, the better to "starve the beast." But other Republicans are more worried about the deficit and so prefer to pair revenue trims (or even modest enhancements) with specific spending reductions. Still others, including (on some days) the president himself, want to experiment with consumption taxes (like a border adjustment tax). Put it all together and we're left with a bundle of contrary impulses and priorities when it comes to the GOP's signature issue.

Foreign policy. Both parties are dominated by hawks liberal internationalists on the left and neoconservatives on the right. The supremacy of the neocons in the GOP has persisted despite their leadership of the #NeverTrump movement and continued skepticism about the president's competence, instincts, and entanglements with Vladimir Putin. Yet those who reject the neocon conviction that every global problem can be remedied by the generous application of American military power received a significant boost when Trump ascended to the White House, bringing Mr. America First (Stephen Bannon) with him to the West Wing and placing him (temporarily) on the Principals Committee of the National Security Council. That, like everything else in the Trump administration, was not to last. But the churn at the top of the party around such fundamental issues has reinforced the impression that everything is up for grabs in today's GOP, including its stance toward the wider world.

Crime/drugs. The GOP remains broadly "tough on crime." But in recent years, several high-profile Republicans have shown a willingness to work with Democrats on various forms of criminal-justice reform, especially reductions in mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. Yet Trump comes from a faction of the party that is far more interested in emphasizing "law and order," and his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, shows every sign of working against any reform at all. If anything, Sessions seems eager to move in the opposite direction, toward a re-intensification of the drug war, including harsh sentences for convictions.

Immigration. The GOP has been split on immigration for many years, with the party's rich donors and the Wall Street Journal crowd firmly leaning in the direction of open borders and the grassroots of the party taking a far more draconian line, including support for the forcible deportation of undocumented immigrants (invariably denigrated as "illegals"). For a long time, the former group held the preponderance of the power in the party and found themselves checked from time to time by the latter. But with Trump's election that balance has been upended. Now it's the anti-immigrant forces who hold the power and their opponents who've been placed on the defensive. But regardless of who holds the cards at one time or another, the fact is that the party is, and shows every sign of staying, deeply divided on the issue.

The two areas where the GOP remains broadly unified are social policy (especially abortion) and the Supreme Court. Given the importance of the Court in adjudicating our most polarizing disagreements on social policy, it makes sense that the party largely stuck together through the rancorous year-long battle to succeed the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia, which included a successful effort to deny a hearing or vote to the nominee of a Democratic president and culminated in the nuking of the judicial filibuster in the Senate.

But don't let such steadfastness fool you. On just about every other issue, the Republican Party is in a state of disarray, its once-unifying ideology crumbling before our eyes.

All that remains to be seen is whether the Democrats can exploit this massive vulnerability.

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The Republican Party is dissolving before our eyes - The Week Magazine