Mediaboss Marketing

WATCH THE LATEST POLITICS & GOVERNMENT VIDEOSElection changes proposed | 0:42

A trio of bills in the General Assembly are designed to make it easier to vote. Wochit

1 of 15

A look at two different proposals for hiking the income tax in Delaware. Matthew Albright, The News Journal

2 of 15

Senator Graham praised the Trump administration on NBC's "Meet the Press". Veuer's Emily Drooby (@emilydrooby) has the story. Buzz60

3 of 15

President Donald Trump says only time will tell if progress has been made on trade between the U.S. and China. Maria Mercedes Galuppo (@mariamgaluppo) has more. Buzz60

4 of 15

The sanctions are the Trump administration's latest response to the recent chemical attack on civilians in Syria. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

5 of 15

In a 54-45 vote, the Senate confirmed President Trump's pick as the 113th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. USA TODAY

6 of 15

President Donald Trump removes chief strategist Steve Bannon from National Security Council, reversing controversial early decision. (April 5) AP

7 of 15

U.S. President Donald Trump says a suspected chemical attack by the Syrian government against civilians "crossed a lot of lines." (April 5) AP

8 of 15

Legislators from both parties say they will try to re-institute the death penalty in Delaware this year, but might they face an uphill battle. Matthew Albright/The News Journal

9 of 15

Battle lines are being drawn between Republicans and Democrats over the presidents Supreme Court nominee. What exactly is a filibuster? And what is the nuclear option? The Enquirer/Mike Nyerges

10 of 15

House Speaker Paul Ryan is maintaining support for embattled House intelligence committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes. (March 30) AP

11 of 15

After ethics critics questioned her West Wing office and security clearance, Ivanka Trump will formally become a federal employee. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

12 of 15

Two former aides to Gov. Chris Christie were sentenced to prison Wednesday for their role in a political revenge plot involving traffic jams at the country's busiest bridge, a scandal that continues to hang over his final year in office. (March 29) AP

13 of 15

A defiant Vice President Mike Pence says President Donald Trump's administration is refusing to accept defeat on health care. (March 25) AP

14 of 15

The Trump team will look at overhauling the tax code, but don't expect new legislation soon. Video provided by Newsy Newslook

15 of 15

Election changes proposed

Income tax hikes debated

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he's 'encouraged' by Trump Administration

Trump: Only Time Will Tell on improving trade with China

US Treasury secretary says Syria will face more sanctions

Neil Gorsuch confirmed for Supreme Court

Bannon Removed From National Security Council

Trump: Syria attack 'crossed many lines'

Could the death penalty return to Delaware?

What is a filibuster?

Ryan stands by Nunes, Trump amid Russia claims

Ivanka Trump to become an official government employee

Former Christie aides get prison for bridge plot

Pence: Health Care Setback 'Won't Last Long'

Reeling from healthcare loss, Trump administration turns to taxes

Mike Harrington was elected as Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party at day two of the 2017 Delaware Republican Convention at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover.(Photo: Jason Minto, The News Journal)Buy Photo

The Delaware Republican Party elected new leaders Saturday who promised to help break the Democrats' stranglehold on statewide politics.

"We must restore the Republican Party to its rightful role in affecting the decisions that directly touch our families," said Michael Harrington, who was elected chairman on Saturday. "One-party rule has not been good to Delaware."

IN OTHER NEWS:School budget cuts causing concern

ELSEWHERE:A hotel boom on Wilmington's riverfront?

A Dover-area real estate agent and businessman, Harrington has been active in Republican campaigns for decades. He is a former state representative and he served as Kent County chair of President Donald Trump's campaign, lending a storefront he owns to the campaign.

Harrington was not the only new leader picked Saturday. The party also got a new vice chair, Emily Taylor.

Emily Taylor gives her acceptance speech after being elected to Vice Chair of the Delaware Republican Party at day two of the 2017 Delaware Republican Convention at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover.(Photo: Jason Minto, The News Journal)

Taylor, 29, has worked on numerous campaigns over the past few years. At age 23, she ran state Sen. Colin Bonini's campaign for state treasurer, which fell just two percentage points short of winning.

Taylor's election was the only contested one Saturday. Originally, only two-time U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Wade was in the running, but Bonini abruptly nominated Taylor.

She won the votes of 149 delegates, with 102 voting for Wade.

The party also got a new treasurer, Dennis Cini. Carol Bodine will remain secretary.

Saturday's GOP convention took place on the 100th day of Trump's tenure. Many national pundits and prognosticators have given him a harsh assessment of those first days, but that negativity didn't penetrate the walls of Dover Downs.

Not only is Trump in the White House, attendees noted, but Republicans also enjoy majorities in both the House and the Senate. And a conservative judge, Neal Gorsuch, is newly seated on the Supreme Court.

Republicans have also dominated state-level elections across the country. The party holds the legislature and governor's seat in 24 states, compared with only six states run fully by Democrats.

Delaware is one of those Democratic strongholds. Republicans were unable to take control of either chamber of the General Assembly last year, and Democrats convincingly won the statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor and Congress.

Still, some Republicans at the convention Saturday saw a reason for optimism about state politics.

The GOP narrowed the Democrats' majority in the state Senate to 11-10, after Republican Anthony Delcollo defeated former Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins in a heavily Democratic district.

"We can win in districts where we can have an advantage, we can win in districts where it's 50-50, and we can win in districts where we're heavily outnumbered," said outgoing party Chairman Charlie Copeland, who is leaving to head the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a national nonprofit dedicated to building conservative values among college students.

Charlie Copeland, Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party welcomes everyone to day two of the 2017 Delaware Republican Convention at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover.(Photo: Jason Minto, The News Journal)

Downstate Republicans, in particular, are riding high. Only one Democrat, Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth, is left in a Sussex County elected office. And Donald Trump won both Kent and Sussex counties, even though Hillary Clinton carried Delaware.

"Forthe first time in the history of the state, Republicans outnumber Democrats in Sussex County," Copeland said, to big cheers from the county delegation.

In his farewell speech, Copeland identified three main obstacles the party will need to overcome.

The first ispublic sector employee unions, which Copelandsaid unfairly get government help raising money that is spent to back Democrats.

The second is the fact that African-Americans, who make up almost a quarter of the state's population,vote about 95 percent Democratic. That effectively means the party's statewide candidates are starting more than 20 points behind Democrats, Copeland said.

The third problem for Republicans, Copeland argued, is the media.

"The news media, particularly the news media north of the canal, is absolutely in the tank for the other side," he said.

Copeland said the media didn't do enough to hold Democrats to account for what he called anemiceconomic growth during former Gov. Jack Markell's tenure. He criticized The News Journal for writing frequent "puff pieces" aboutformer Vice President Joe Biden.

Harrington said he plans to arm Republicans with the latest technology to win elections and help them raise money to compete with well-funded Democrats.

He said the party needs to convince independent and Democratic voters to consider the GOP, noting that "a failing school affects a Democrat just as much as it affects a Republican."

And he hinted at a more hard-nosed approach.

"We're gonna break a few eggs," Harrington said. "It means spelling out the truth of what's broken in Delaware."

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.

Read or Share this story: http://delonline.us/2pgE7k4

Original post:
New Delaware Republican leaders named - The News Journal - The News Journal

ATLANTA For years the GOP pitch to conservative voters in general, and gun rights supporters in particular, was: We might have the House and Senate, but we need you to get us a president who can finally sign all these bills into law.

Now that Republicans control the White House, activists at the National Rifle Associations annual meetings said its President Trump who could use new Republicans in Congress.

Im disappointed in Paul Ryan, period, said Rosemary Pereira of Florida. Hes not pushing hard enough for his party and doing his job on everything.

Hes too slow. Hes kind of, like, sitting back waiting for things to happen, said Ray Pereira, Rosemarys husband and a fellow retiree. And I dont think thats his job. I think he needs to get out there and push and work for this administration.

Mrs. Pereira said Republicans in general arent backing Mr. Trump as they should be.

They have to be more with him. They dont stick together like the Democrats. They just dont. They fight him too much, she said. If they were behind him like they should be, wed be living in America again.

Mr. Trump was given a heros welcome in Atlanta when he spoke to National Rifle Association members at the NRAs annual meeting and joked about his mercurial relationship with Sen. Ted Cruz, his top Republican presidential rival and now a reliable supporter of the administration.

The president said he loved Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican also solidly supportive of the administration, right from the beginning.

The other one I really liked, didnt like, and now like a lot again, he said, referring to Mr. Cruz, who famously declined to endorse Mr. Trump in a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention before announcing his support.

Sen. Ted Cruz like, dislike, like, Mr. Trump said.

David Corbin, 72, who works in projectile manufacturing in Oregon, said he would have supported Republicans like Mr. Cruz and Mr. Ryan for president.

But when they didnt get on board with Trump because he was kind of an outlier as far as the Republican Party, I said, Well, these could be problems for Trump and for the Republican Party because the conservative base is already a little disillusioned with the Republican Party, Mr. Corbin said.

Mr. Ryan and Mr. Cruz eventually came along, albeit reluctantly. But broadly speaking, Republican support hasnt been enough, said Don Spitz, 71, who lives near Daytona Beach, Florida.

It seems like they need more support, he said. They just dont seem like they want to follow his orders at all.

Mr. Spitz said he is looking forward to touring Mr. Trumps promised U.S.-Mexico border wall, for which the president will likely need broad Republican support in Congress.

I promised my wife in 2020 were going to take a vacation look at the wall in New Mexico, he said. So Trump needs to fund this thing. I want to stay at the Wall Hilton or the Wall Marriott and take a look at the tower.

The president says Mexico will pay for the wall eventually, though the White House backed off demands to have Congress include money for it as part of a spending bill last week.

Mr. Trumps relationship with Congress has been curious. During the campaign, Mr. Ryan, the House speaker, was frequently critical and told his members to distance themselves from their partys nominee if need be.

After the election, Mr. Ryan did an about-face, saying Mr. Trump had shown Republicans how to win again and that his goals would be the goals of Republicans in Congress.

Still, Mr. Trump has struggled to notch any major legislative wins. Mr. Ryan was unable to garner the votes for an Obamacare repeal and needed to go into overtime just to finish last years spending bills.

Barry Bechtold, 61, of Pennsylvania said Republicans could be doing more to make the presidents job easier.

I dont know if some of the Democratic associates are getting to them or theyre listening to the media too much, he said. We need to give him a chance and let him do his thing and not be so critical on certain things and work together as a country.

Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, said it has been frustrating at times to watch the misadventures of Republicans in Congress.

I dont want to come down too hard on the GOP-led Congress, but they cant seem to be able to get out of their own way at times, Sheriff Clarke said in his Friday speech to NRA members. Sometimes its very painful to watch.

NRA attendees did praise Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, for pulling the nuclear trigger to get Justice Neil M. Gorsuch onto the U.S. Supreme Court, using a shortcut to change the chambers rules and eviscerate the power of the filibuster.

I have to grade McConnell high because of what he did on [the] Justice Gorsuch nomination. Despite all the caterwauling of [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer and [other] Democrats, he just went ahead and did the right thing, said Paul Heimbach, a retired Air Force officer from Florida.

Mr. Heimbach said that is the kind of gumption the party could use to get national concealed carry reciprocity legislation a top NRA priority through Congress.

Read the original post:
Donald Trump has NRA but needs Republican support, members say - Washington Times

Local Republican politicians assured constituents at a Saturday night fundraising event they are taking action to fix Illinois' budget issues.

Rock Island County Republicans hosted a Lincoln Day Dinner in Moline to raise funds for party candidates and operations. About 175 people participated in the dinner and auction events.

Addressing the group, state Rep.Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, asserted Republicans aren't afraid of being verbal about the budget. "We're not pretending that it's not an issue," she said.

According to Rep. McCombie, last week the Illinois House of Representatives approved $295 million in funds. "I voted 'no' for all of these," she said. "Fiscally, we can't afford any new programs, no matter how good they are."

State Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Rock Island, agreed, saying the budget in its current state is "bleeding."

"We have to make sure we're focused on budgeting for a full year," Sen. Anderson said, "instead of piece-mealing something together."

He also acknowledged the state is in "this mess" because of both sides. "It's going to take both sides to get this done," he said.

Sen. Anderson said eight of the 13 bills he recently introduced have passed and that they"represent the values of our region." Rep. McCombie assured constituents she is traveling her district and reported she has proposed four bills in her first 100 days in office.

Both speakers thanked those in attendance for their support and requested feedback.

About 15 protesters stood outside the event at the Viking Club at 1450 41st St. toward the beginning of the event. Some of the protesters indicated they were representatives from public service employee union AFSCME.

Read more from the original source:
Republican leaders emphasize budget issues at Lincoln Day dinner - Quad-Cities Online

Democrats may still be reeling from the 2016 election, but they arent the only ones who need to think about what their party needs to be willing to sacrifice to increase voter share.

As the Democratic Party comes to grips with the results of the 2016 election, smaller races have started to take on a much larger significance than they normally would.

The special election in Kansass 4th Congressional District was the first such race. The Democrat, Jim Thompson, lost by 7 points to Republican Ron Estes. The next one, Georgias 6th Congressional District special election, is heading to a runoff between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel. And now the mayoral race in Omaha, Nebraska, is coming up in early May.

Two weeks ago, the Democratic National Committee held a unity event with Heath Mello, an Omaha mayoral candidate. NARAL hit the DNC hard for its support of Mello, calling him anti-choice, and Bernie Sanders, a guest at the unity event, caught a lot of criticism for standing with Mello.

The evidence for NARALs charge is that Mello once supported a law that instructed doctors to inform women that they may view an ultrasound of their baby before terminating a pregnancy. Though Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, refers to Mello as pro-life, he has been adamant he would never restrict any access to abortion and he enjoys a 100 percent rating from Nebraska Planned Parenthood.

The issue isnt abortion, or it isnt just abortion, its everything that a party stands for and what its willing to sacrifice as it increases its voter share. It isnt just a question for the Democrats.

The question both parties are asking themselves, or should be, is who do we want to be? For Republicans, this all came into stark focus when Donald Trump tore through their primaries. The cheat-sheet of Republicanismpro-life, for smaller government, pro-free tradewas systematically destroyed by their eventual nominee. He rarely spoke of abortion at all, and when he did he sounded like a Martian who had landed on Earth only to learn about the pro-life position from the caricatures leftists painted of it. When he said he would be open to arresting women who had had an abortion, it was clear this was not a candidate who had a deep regard or understanding for the pro-life movement.

It didnt stop at abortion, of course. As Trump laid waste to longtime conservative positions, Republicans had to keep reminding themselves that he had assured them of a good Supreme Court pick if elected. He delivered on that promise. He also, in many ways, has governed as a traditional Republican president. Hes learned the language and sometimes uses it correctly. The weekend he shunned the White House Correspondents Dinner, he didnt just have a rally, he spoke at the National Rifle Associations convention and promised them that the eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end. This was a far cry from the candidate who agreed with Hillary Clinton on using the no-fly list to curtail who was allowed to own guns.

So what now? Trade is one area where Trump had not budged. If the partys president is openly against free trade, does the party move in that direction with him? When Trump talks of ending Obamacare, it sometimes seems he wants to replace it with something to its left. He has spoken positively of the medical systems of Canada and Scotland, not exactly conservative stalwarts. We will take care of everybody is not what a small-government conservative says. Yet his message is the one that won. Theres no question he grew the Republican tent and appealed to people who arent natural Republican voters.

Dick Morris used to say that if you dont want your candidate to openly talk about being pro-choice, have them talk a lot about the environment. People will make the connection themselves. The idea is that where you stand on one issue, especially one like abortion, can represent where you stand on a number of other issues. On the conservative side, being pro-life would often mean you were for smaller government or were a defender of the Second Amendment. Where you stood on life on the right or choice on the left represented where you would stand on everything else.

It didnt always fit, exactly, especially when Republicans ran in a blue area or Democrats ran in red ones. In 2004, in Georgia, I got to watch two candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Rick Crawford and Republican Phil Gingrey, debate. Crawford got up to speak and told the room how he was born in Georgia and how he was just like them. Im pro-life, he said. Im against gay marriage, I want to bring back prayer in schools and I dont want to take away your guns.

Dumbfounded, I double-checked the program to see that I was indeed listening to a Democrat. But what we are doing on out-sourcing just isnt right, he continued. He was a protectionist. Thats what made him a Democrat in Georgia. That was enough to make him one of the liberal activist blog Daily Koss main targeted races that year, the same Daily Kos that rescinded its endorsement of Heath Mello for not being perfect on choice. Crawford lost that year but then won a seat in 2007. Did the Democrats win with a candidate like Crawford? Not exactly. In 2012, Crawford officially became a Republican.

What do we stand for? is not a bad question for the party completely out of power, and the party that controls all branches of power, to be asking itself.

For Democrats, they have to answer whether they can throw support, and more importantly resources, behind candidates who are distant from them ideologically on tenets central to party identity. Can they support pro-gun candidates? What about candidates who support charter schools? Can a Democrat be anti-union? What about anti-immigration? How much should a party bend to grow its tent?

For the Republicans, the idea that they should look ahead to what the party will be after the age of Trump is one they must entertain sooner rather than later. So many Republicans are still in the we won! phase after the election. The question they should be asking is who is we?

See the article here:
When the Tent Gets Too Big: A Democratic (and Republican) Reckoning - Daily Beast

WASHINGTON (AP) For Donald Trump, self-proclaimed master negotiator, making deals with Congress was supposed to be easy. This Congress is going to be the busiest Congress weve had in decades, maybe ever, Trump predicted shortly after taking office.

With Republicans in charge of the House, the Senate and the White House for the first time in a decade, Trump didnt reckon with the reality of GOP divisions so intractable they may doom his major legislative priorities.

A restive right flank willing to defy party leaders dealt him a humiliating setback on health care last month. That called into question whether Republicans will ever make good on their longstanding promise of repealing and replacing former President Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act. If they cant, they will likely also struggle to produce the sweeping tax legislation and massive infrastructure investments that Trump promised.

The White House is pushing House GOP leaders to try again on health care, and theres been recent progress as the conservative House Freedom Caucus endorsed the latest version of the bill. But leaders are struggling to round up support from more moderate Republicans, and its uncertain when or if the legislation will come to a vote.

Meanwhile, the government is operating under a one-week, stopgap spending bill to avert a shutdown on Saturday, which coincides with Trumps 100th day in office. Lawmakers needed more time to finish their sweeping $1 trillion legislation for the remainder of the 2017 budget year, work that is Congress most basic function.

The White House intervened in the negotiations late in the game to make demands on issues including the U.S.-Mexico border wall subsequently dropped. That was an intervention even some Republicans said was not productive.

With little in the way of actual results so far, some Republicans have begun to fret openly about their thin record of accomplishments, and sound alarms about a backlash from voters if the GOP doesnt begin to produce.

We cant afford to go to the country in 2018 with a Republican president, Republican Senate and Republican House and say well we just couldnt get it done, said GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma. Thats not defensible.

Trump himself voiced frustration in an interview airing Friday on Fox News Channel, saying, Im disappointed that it doesnt go quicker.

I think everybody is trying very hard, the president said. It is a very tough system.

It wasnt supposed to be this way after eight years of chafing under Obama.

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky pledged they would seize the opportunity to work with the new Republican president and enact a bold GOP vision starting with making good on seven years of promises to get rid of Obamas health law and replace it with something better. Comprehensive tax reform was to follow, plus work on infrastructure, immigration, an orderly budgeting process emphasizing GOP priorities, and more.

The people have given us unified government. And it wasnt because they were feeling generous. Its because they wanted results, Ryan said in his opening day address to the House in January after his election as speaker. How could we live with ourselves if we let them down?

It didnt take long for lofty goals to fizzle as it became clear that Republicans, after achieving political success as an opposition party, were less accustomed to the role of governing.

Trump himself, unfamiliar with the arduous process of legislating, set unrealistic goals, pledging an Obamacare repeal on Day One, something that was never going to happen. Other legislative priorities he had promised to work on with Congress during his first 100 days including school choice legislation, ethics reforms and a community safety bill have barely been discussed at all.

The one bright spot that stands out for many Republicans is Senate confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. It took breaking Senate rules to do it, but for many Republicans lifetime appointment of a young and reliably conservative jurist makes up for many other deficiencies.

There are some people I know who voted for Trump solely because he would put a conservative on the court, so theyre good, said Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Fla.

Republicans also point to progress on regulatory issues, with Congress employing a tool called the Congressional Review Act, previously little used, to undo a raft of regulations passed toward the end of the Obama years.

For their part, Democrats scoff at the GOPs underwhelming record, noting that Congress passed a massive economic stimulus bill and other legislation during Obamas first 100 days.

Republicans have not accomplished very much in the first 100 days, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. If they reach out to Democrats and work in a bipartisan way they could get a lot more done.

Republicans say the best could still be yet to come, with House leaders nurturing hopes of passing their health bill as soon as next week along with completing work on the 2017 spending bills, which would allow them to turn to tax legislation and other issues.

Said Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania: I just hope the second 100 days are better than the first.

Read the original here:
Republican divisions stall legislative agenda - The Daily Progress