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Semester after semester, UMs opposing political organizations College Democrats and College Republicans have been mostly void of members with little presence on the Ole Miss campus. Recently, however, these groups have gained relevance among the student body.

This new wave of cultural campus significance can be attributed to the organizations new leadership. For College Democrats, that leader is President Ethan Robertson.

Robertson hails from Pontotoc, Miss., a town particularly influenced by conservative ideology. This right-leaning environment easily had an influence on Robertson for most of his youth, but a series of political happenings during his later teen years influenced his personal doctrine toward a more liberal view.

I definitely think all the stuff that happened with COVID-19 sort of broadened my (liberal mindset), Robertson said.

The Black Lives Matter movement and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., also held a huge influence on Robertsons path to becoming a Democrat.

Of course, Id already been leaning on over to the moderate side before that, and then when all of that happened, I decided to switch over to being a Democrat, Robertson said.

Because of the conservative climate of his home town, Robertson revealed that he experienced some backlash from the community.

Whenever people found out, I went from being student body president and Mr. North Pontotoc to really having no friends simply because a friend found out I was a Democrat and spread the word to everybody, Robertson said.

This experience still affects Robertson, but he said that coming to a more politically diverse and accepting environment has acted as a Band-Aid to those cultural wounds. Part of that healing process included joining the University of Mississippi College Democrats, a club that on his first visit included only about five individuals yelling present at roll call.

His group debut happened to be on the same day as club executive elections. Robertson would go on to become the vice president from that round of voting. Over the following Christmas break, the then-president reached out to him and said she would be traveling abroad the following semester, meaning that Robertson would become the active president of College Democrats as a freshman.

During his appointed time as the groups leader, there has been a sharp spike in attendance. Robertson acknowledged that the route to this accomplishment was one of determination.

We dont really have outreach material. We dont have any tablecloths, signs nothing like that, Robertson said. In the past, it would just be me going to Dollar General, staying up all night painting on like a little $1 tablecloth with our little donkey on it to get people to come.

Under Robertsons lead, College Democrats have made waves not only around UM but also in the Oxford community. Just last month, the club teamed with other groups to hold a rally supporting the protection of trans youth.

It is community involvement like this that has sparked compliments from College Republicans President Colton Jones.

Theyre getting really involved in the community. Theyve been involved in several events Ive seen, Jones said. I think that means so much because its always important to remember there is no University of Mississippi without Oxford.

Similar to Robertson, Jones saw limited involvement when he arrived at his respective clubs initial meetings. The Prentiss, Miss., native was also appointed to one of his first positions.

The chairman at the time messaged me (and asked) if I would come in as secretary because, I think, someone had left the position. I wasnt expecting it, but I took it on, and weve been trying to build everything up since then, Jones said.

In April 2022, Jones was voted president of College Republicans. Since then, the organization has seen a noteworthy increase in student interaction with the organization. Jones estimates a total of 20 active members and hopes to expand these numbers.

One of my focal points would be trying to establish a good alumni base. Theres been several times that College Republicans have kind of gone down, and I want us to get to a point where we dont really go down again, Jones said. We want to make sure theres longevity and that were doing everything right.

Among his other goals for College Republicans is to form a deeper understanding of political discourse and create connections with similar-minded individuals, whether that be elected officials or fellow students.

The group is undertaking revision and enforcement of the clubs constitution. According to Jones, the book of bylaws has been updated since 2019.

One way new members have been enticed to join the organization is through guest speakers. Most recently, U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly, Transportation Commissioner John Caldwell and state Sen. Chris McDaniel were guests at the College Republicans meetings.

Both presidents seem to respect each others organization.

Jones admires the way College Democrats expands their horizons to the Oxford community. Robertson applauds the College Republicans success with influential guest speakers at meetings.

Although Jones and Robertson likely disagree on a lengthy amount of policy-related topics, they share two threads: the desire for new active members within their respective organizations and acceptance that they can learn something from each other despite their differences.

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Democrat and Republican club presidents bring new life to UM ... - Daily Mississippian

Texas-based drag queen Kylee Ohara Fatale slams the effort by Republican lawmakers to ban drag and attack the trans community in her state. (Kylee Ohara Fatale/Mark Mayr)

Within the space of just a few days, two Texas Republicans introduced separate piece of legislation targeting drag performers who perform in front of minors.

Its part of a wave of legislation across red states that Republicans say are about protecting children.

But Texas drag queen Kylee Ohara Fatale sees through the rhetoric she says its a distraction technique to mask the real target.

That is, of course, to attack the trans community as well as trans youth, Kylee tells PinkNews.

These bills are not to protect children as they say because, if that was the case, we shouldnt be having conversion therapy.

We wouldnt have Hooters being allowed to let children into their restaurant restaurants that are showing sexualised images and sexualised objects that kids can still go to these days.

Conservative legislators in over a dozen states including Texas have proposed measures that would restrict drag performances. A majority outright ban what Republicans deem sexual public performances by male and female impersonators in the presence of minors.

This language could very easily, many believe, be used against trans people.

I really hate it the vague wording in a lot of these drag bills are literally attacking trans people, Kylee says. That makes me so scared because my trans sisters cant even go speak in church or sing in church because basically now that [would be] illegal.

Its easy to target the weird looking group drag queens but essentially were like crazy party clowns, she adds.

Its easy to target us and make us out to be the villains because its so hard for the outside person to understand drag.

And by then doing this and united in this knotted front of hate to attack drag queens, they can sneakily throw in all these bills that are actually to damage and attack the trans community.

For Kylee, drag has been life changing. It allowed her to figure out who she was, to embrace her gayness.

Drag showed me, personally, that what I was living the first 23 years of my life was the drag, and then this is the real me.

While Kylee worries about Texas potentially following Tennessees lead, by actually passing legislation that would stop drag queens from performing, she knows shed be OK.

For me, drag is a job. At the end of the day, if God forbid, knock on wood, these drag bills passed and Im out of a job, its not going to affect how I exist.

If these bills pass, for most trans people, it is literally going to affect how they exist. Its basically making being trans illegal. Its the erasure of the trans community.

Over the past year, Texas has made headlines for governor Greg Abbotts continued attacks on the affirming families of trans youth in the state. In February 2022, Abbott ordered the states child protective services toinvestigatehealthcare providers and families of trans kids who help them medically transition in any way.

The order led to parentsliving in fearthat their kids would be ripped away from them, and a legal battle that made it all the way to theTexas Supreme Court.

Republicans in the state have repeatedly lashed out at gender-affirming healthcare both for trans youth and trans adults. Theyve also banned trans youth fromparticipating in school sportsand introduced legislation rolling back discussions on LGBTQ+ topics in schools, also known as aDont Say Gay or Trans bill.

In March alone, two Republican lawmakers introduced separate anti-drag bills.

Republican congressman Steve Toth filed a bill that would ban drag performances and create a cause of action that would allow people who attended a drag show as a child totake the performer to court.

Bryan Slaton, a Republican state representative with ahistory of attacking drag, filed a bill that would make it a felony if a drag performance occurred in the presence of a minor.

When it comes to the fight for LGBTQ+ and trans rights, Kylee says the best thing that anyone can do is be seen. Its a big reason why she calls herself the pop of colour, the POC of Texas because shes the loudest thing in the room visibly if not audibly when she shows up in bright kaleidoscopic garb.

Thats why Im always so colourful with everything I do so that people can look at me, so that I can speak on the issues that are near and dear to my heart, which of course, inclusion as well as just stopping all queer hate, she says. Hate is such a foolish emotion, especially when it comes to human beings. Were all the same on the inside.

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Drag queen points out the huge flaw in Republican anti-drag logic - PinkNews

US supreme court

Texas senator claims court dominated 6-3 by conservatives after ruthless GOP power plays must remain independent

The Republican senator Ted Cruz, whose party defied convention to delay then rush conservatives on to the supreme court, has introduced a constitutional amendment to stop Democrats expanding the court in response.

The Democrats answer to a supreme court that is dedicated to upholding the rule of law and the constitution is to pack it with liberals who will rule the way they want, Cruz said.

The supreme court should be independent, not inflated by every new administration. Thats why Ive introduced a constitutional amendment to permanently keep the number of justices at nine.

There is no constitutional provision for how many justices sit on the court.

Democrats say the current court is not independent of the Republican party.

In 2016, when the conservative Antonin Scalia died Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, held the seat open until a Republican president, Donald Trump, could replace a Democrat, Barack Obama, and nominate Scalias replacement. Neil Gorsuch filled that seat.

In 2020, Democrats were helpless again when Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal lion, died shortly before the presidential election and McConnell changed course, rushing Amy Coney Barrett on to the court before Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Those changes and the replacement of the retiring Anthony Kennedy with Brett Kavanaugh produced a court dominated, 6-3, by conservatives.

Conservative justices including Coney Barrett and Clarence Thomas have claimed not to be influenced by political considerations.

Coney Barrett notably did so, saying the court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks, while standing next to McConnell at a political studies centre named for the Republican leader.

Among conservative rulings passed down by the new super-majority, a May 2022 decision saw the court side with Cruz in a case concerning personal loans to campaigns. The three liberal justices said the ruling paved the way for corruption.

But the Dobbs decision of last year, removing the right to abortion, most enraged Democrats and progressives.

On the left, plans have been floated to increase the size of the court and thereby redress its ideological balance.

Writing for the Guardian last year, David Daley, author of Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesnt Count, said: The courts hard-right majority has neither popular support for its agenda nor institutional legitimacy.

It is the product of a hostile takeover of the courts 50 years in the planning by conservatives who have long understood that unpopular policies can be thrust upon Americans by an unaccountable and unelected judiciary.

The court must be expanded and reformed to counter a rightwing power play that threatens to remake American democracy and life itself.

Biden ordered a commission to study options for reform. It found bipartisan support for term limits for justices but reported profound disagreement on whether the court should be expanded. Biden has said he is not a fan of expanding the court.

Cruzs amendment has little chance of passing a Democratic-held Senate but 10 Republican senators supported it nonetheless.

Josh Hawley of Missouri said: For years the left has been desperate to pack the court to promote their radical agenda. We must ensure that we stay true to the courts founding principles, maintain the precedent of nine justices, and keep the Democrats from their brazen attempts to rig our democracy.

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Republican Ted Cruz introduces bill to block US supreme court expansion - The Guardian

WASHINGTON The chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome H. Powell, has repeatedly undercut a central claim Republicans make as they seek sharp cuts in federal spending: Government spending is driving the nations still-hot inflation rate.

Republican lawmakers say spending programs signed into law by President Biden are pumping too much money into the economy and fueling an annual inflation rate that was 6 percent in February a decline from last years highs, but still well above historical norms. Mr. Powell disputed those claims in congressional testimony earlier this month and in a news conference on Wednesday, after the Fed announced it would once again raise interest rates in an effort to bring inflation back toward normal levels.

Asked whether federal tax and spending policies were contributing to price growth, Mr. Powell pointed to a decline in federal spending from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

You have to look at the fiscal impulse from spending, Mr. Powell said on Wednesday, referring to a measure of how much tax and spending policies are adding or subtracting to economic growth. Fiscal impulse is actually not whats driving inflation right now. It was at the beginning perhaps, but thats not the story right now.

Instead, Mr. Powell along with Mr. Biden and his advisers says rapid price growth is primarily being driven by factors like snarled supply chains, an oil shock following Russias invasion of Ukraine and a shift among American consumers from spending money on services like travel and dining out to goods like furniture.

Mr. Powell has also said the low unemployment rate was playing a role: Some part of the high inflation that were experiencing is very likely related to an extremely tight labor market, he told a House committee earlier this month.

But the Fed chairs position has not swayed congressional Republicans, who continue to press Mr. Biden to accept sharp spending reductions in exchange for raising the legal limit on how much the federal government can borrow.

Over the last two years, this administrations reckless spending and failed economic policies have resulted in continued record inflation, soaring interest rates and an economy in a recessionary tailspin, Representative Jodey C. Arrington, Republican of Texas and the chairman of the Budget Committee, said at a hearing on Thursday.

Republicans have attacked Mr. Biden over inflation since he took office. They denounced the $1.9 trillion economic aid package he signed into law early in 2021 and warned it would stoke damaging inflation. Mr. Bidens advisers largely dismissed those warnings. So did Mr. Powell and Fed officials, who were holding interest rates near zero and taking other steps at the time to stoke a faster recovery from the pandemic recession.

Economists generally agree that those stimulus efforts carried out by the Fed, by Mr. Biden and in trillions of dollars of pandemic spending signed by Mr. Trump in 2020 helped push the inflation rate to its highest level in 40 years last year. But researchers disagree on how large that effect was, and over how to divide the blame between federal government stimulus and Fed stimulus.

How Times reporters cover politics.We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause.

One recent model, from researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the University of Maryland and Harvard University, estimates that about a third of the inflation from December 2019 through June 2022 was caused by fiscal stimulus measures.

Much of that stimulus has already made its way through the economy. Spending on pandemic aid to people, businesses and state and local governments fell sharply over the last year, as emergency programs signed into law by Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump expired. The federal budget deficit fell to about $1.4 trillion in the 2022 fiscal year from about $2.8 trillion in 2021.

The Hutchins Center at the Brookings Institution in Washington estimates that in the first quarter of 2021, when Mr. Bidens economic aid bill delivered direct payments, enhanced unemployment checks and other benefits to millions of Americans, government fiscal policy added 8 percentage points to economic growth. At the end of last year, the center estimates, declining government spending was actually reducing economic growth by 1 percentage point.

Still, even Biden administration officials say some effects of Mr. Bidens and Mr. Trumps stimulus bills could still be contributing to higher prices. Thats because Americans did not immediately spend all the money they got from the government in 2020 and 2021. They saved some of it, and now, some consumers are drawing on those savings to buy things.

Increased consumer spending from savings could be pushing the cost of goods and services higher, White House economists conceded this week in their annual Economic Report of the President, which includes summaries of the past years developments in the economy.

If the drawdown of excess savings, together with current income, boosted aggregate demand, it could have contributed to high inflation in 2021 and 2022, the report says.

Some liberal economists contend consumer demand is currently playing little if any role in price growth placing the blame on supply challenges or on companies taking advantage of their market power and the economic moment to extract higher prices from consumers.

High prices are not being driven by excess demand, but are actually being driven by things like a supply chain crisis or war in Ukraine or corporate profiteering, said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist for the Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal policy organization in Washington.

Other economists, though, say Mr. Biden and Congress could help the Feds inflation-fighting efforts by doing even more to reduce consumer demand and cool growth, either by raising taxes or reducing spending.

Mr. Biden proposed a budget this month that would cut projected budget deficits by $3 trillion over the next decade, largely by raising taxes on high earners and corporations. Republicans refuse to raise taxes but are pushing for immediate cuts in government spending on health care, antipoverty measures and more, though they have not released a formal budget proposal yet. The Republican-controlled House voted this year to repeal some tax increases Mr. Biden signed into law last year, a move that could add modestly to inflation.

Republican lawmakers have pushed Mr. Powell on whether he would welcome more congressional efforts to reduce the deficit and help bring inflation down. Mr. Powell rebuffed them.

We take fiscal policy as it comes to our front door, stick it in our model along with a million other things, he said on Wednesday. And we have responsibility for price stability. The Federal Reserve has the responsibility for that, and nothing is going to change that.

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Republicans Say Spending Is Fueling Inflation. The Fed Chair Disagrees. - The New York Times

Mike Gallagher, a 39-year-old former Marine, is widely viewed as a rising star in the GOP thanks to his vocal stance on China policy and prolific fundraising. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo

A public break with former President Donald Trump has been career suicide for many an ambitious GOP lawmaker in recent years. It might just be a boon for Rep. Mike Gallagher.

Top party officials in D.C. and back home in Wisconsin maintain the fourth-term congressman and new head of the China Select Committee represents their best shot at flipping the battlegrounds Senate seat in 2024.

There is just one thing they have to do first: convince him to run.

The 39-year-old former Marine is widely viewed as a rising star in the GOP thanks to his vocal stance on China policy and prolific fundraising. Beyond that, key Republicans say his criticism of Trump might just bolster his credibility with the very voters theyve lost in recent cycles. His nomination would be a strong indication the party is shifting gears and learning the lessons from 2022.

Gallagher has been evasive about his plans. But people close to him say hes not inclined to challenge Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a formidable campaigner and fundraiser in her own right. And they also recognize that Gallaghers break with Trump over Jan. 6, and recent insistence that the former president lost [his] support, will be tricky to navigate, particularly in a potentially messy primary, given Trumps immense sway over the party in recent years.

Should Gallagher pass on the contest, it could not only hurt Republicans chances of claiming the Senate in 2024, it would further underscore the hurdles the party faces in finding a winning electoral formula in a post-Trump world.

In their bid to oust Baldwin, senior Wisconsin Republicans are eager to find a candidate who can bring back the independent and moderate Republican voters in key suburbs who broke with the former president in 2020 and several of his top picks in 2022.

There are some signs that the former presidents grip on the GOP is beginning to slip. He has failed to scare away other presidential primary candidates and recent polling shows hed face stiff competition from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, among other potential contenders. In Wisconsin, where Ted Cruz beat Trump in the 2016 GOP primary, DeSantis led Trump in a hypothetical 2024 matchup with Biden, according to a Marquette Law Poll from late January. But Trumps standing in national primary polls has improved since then. And an impending indictment in a hush-money case has compelled many in the party to rally around the former president once more.

One Wisconsin Republican close to Gallagher, who was granted anonymity to talk about their private conversations with him, brushed off the notion that his public break with Trump would hurt him significantly in a future GOP primary. The person noted that the congressman didnt vote to impeach Trump or approve an independent commission to investigate the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Instead, the person said Gallaghers relatively lean legislative record on Wisconsin issues is his biggest vulnerability.

He hasnt been all that focused on whats been going on at home, said the Republican, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. If theres an Achilles heel, its there, not Trump.

Gallaghers profile in the party has risen rapidly since he was first elected to Congress in 2016, the same year Trump took the White House especially in his role as a leading voice on China policy. He burnished his hard-nosed stance as Trump took aim at Chinas unfair trading practices and other malign activities, though the economic fallout from the ensuing trade war fell on U.S. agriculture, a top industry in Gallaghers home state. Asked if he supported Trumps recent campaign proposal that would levy more tariffs on Chinese goods, something that has raised alarm among some other farm state Republicans, the new head of the House China Select Committee said he wasnt aware of the former presidents proposal to overhaul U.S. trade with China.

Despite his tensions with Trump, many Republicans are now openly suggesting Gallagher may be the partys best chance to oust Baldwin, the battle-tested incumbent Democrat, who has already amassed a huge war chest.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is leading Senate Republicans effort to flip the chamber and has suggested he will help tap more mainstream candidates this cycle, did not hide his enthusiasm about the prospect of the congressman joining the race.

Mike Gallagher would be a great candidate, Daines said. Hes the kind of candidate that with his distinguished service and then time in Congress, could win both the primary and general election.

If Mike got in, everybody would know thats the total package, said Brian Schimming, the states Republican party chair.

Trumps specter looms, however. Republicans in Wisconsin expect the former president to campaign there around the time of the state GOP convention in June, if not earlier. And Republicans hold their national convention in Milwaukee in July 2024.

For now, Gallagher insists that he is focused on his high-profile new post as the House GOPs preeminent China hawk, and not any potential future campaign.

Wisconsin Republicans close to the congressman describe him as whip smart, but also incredibly risk averse and extremely deliberative, sometimes to a point where hes slow to make decisions. They expect him, however, to likely leave the House after his current or following term in Congress, given his push early in his congressional career to limit House members to six terms in office.

Those Republicans say Gallagher, who beat his last Democratic challenger by 30 points in one of the few semi-swing regions left in the state, is more interested in a 2028 bid to replace Ron Johnson, should the states current GOP senator retire as expected, or a possible 2026 gubernatorial run, rather than facing Baldwin, whose own retail politics and fundraising skills make her an intimidating foe.

Should a Republican other than Trump win the White House in 2024, Gallagher, a one-time foreign policy aide to former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walkers presidential campaign, may be inclined to pursue a role in the administration, according to a Wisconsin GOP lawmaker and another Republican who was granted anonymity to speak openly about their private conversations with Gallagher. A role like national security adviser, Navy secretary or secretary of State would allow him to better deploy his expertise on China and foreign policy.

The opportunities for Mike become pretty wide, said one of the Republicans.

As the Wisconsin GOP field waits on Gallagher to make his 2024 plans known, Baldwin has been making moves of her own. Shes preparing to formally launch her campaign shortly after Wisconsins closely-watched state supreme court race April 4, according to two people familiar with the plans who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Long able to shake the national Democratic brand, Baldwin has consistently outperformed fellow Democrats in the state, including in Gallaghers home district in the northeast, which spans the city of Green Bay, nearby suburbs and vast stretches of dairy farms, small towns and tribal lands.

Despite Baldwins past campaign success, senior Wisconsin Democrats believe her upcoming reelection race will be much closer, and won or lost on the margins like most statewide contests in recent years. Baldwins longtime aide Scott Spector is poised for a senior role in her reelect effort according to the two people with knowledge of the campaign plans.

Other possible GOP challengers who may jump in should Gallagher choose not to run include former state Sen. Roger Roth, who won the states Republican primary for lieutenant governor last August, according to people familiar with the plans.

Current Reps. Bryan Steil and Tom Tiffany, who has recently been traveling more within the state, have also been floated as possible candidates, especially if redistricting squeezes some members out of their seats. (Since the news of Trumps possible indictment, Steil and other House GOP members have rushed to defend the former president through letters and on Twitter. Gallaghers office has meanwhile avoided the subject, tweeting about student loans and local school sports state champions.) Trumps former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was heavily involved in the midterms, sparking questions as to whether he was laying the groundwork for a run of his own.

David Clarke, a Trump acolyte and former Milwaukee Sheriff; former GOP Rep. Sean Duffy; former Senate and gubernatorial candidate Kevin Nicholson; and Eric Hovde, a wealthy Republican businessman who waged an unsuccessful Senate bid in 2012 are other names that have come up in conversations with GOP officials.

But another Wisconsin Republican acknowledged that many of those candidates have already used up a lot of their political capital in prior races. Its not a very deep bench.

Gallagher now appears to be keeping everything in play.

Asked earlier this month on Capitol Hill if he had any interest in challenging Baldwin next year, Gallagher said, My sole focus is on the select committee on the CCP not thinking about 2024.

He took a few steps and added: And providing the best constituent services for northeast Wisconsin.

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Republicans' best hope for Wisconsin Senate is a Trump critic - POLITICO