Archive for the ‘Republican’ Category

This old white guy won’t vote for a Republican any time soon (Opinion) – Houston Chronicle

Regarding "Trump is stoking the fires of Waco (Editorial)," (March 23): I am so disgusted by Republicans who seem to be interested only in power and not in the rule of law. This old white guy will probably never again vote for anyone with an "R" after their name.

Alan Jackson, Houston

Regarding "TEA needs to get its own house in order (Opinion)," (March 24): I taught many students from HISD at a local community college for many years.

I had a 30-year career as an English teacher. A large number of my first-year students were clearly unprepared.

Many were not used to reading anything they did not have to read. Administrators pushed large classes on teachers in areas like English, where there was great need for individual tutoring and basic literacy work. There were simply too many students and not enough time.

At the root are two related problems: What, or who, we value and thus are willing to spend money on. Everyone values their own children and wants them to do well. We must value other children and help them, too. There is only one race, and that is the human race.

Another article cites a successful takeover in Massachusetts, a state that seems to value the common good more than the state of Texas. There the students of low-income families improved in math and reading. A key reform was increasing classroom learning time and targeted small-group instruction.

Ruth N. Lpez Turley, who directs the Kinder Institute at Rice, points out that increased funding is central. As she indicates, and anyone who has read much of the research knows, learning success is highly correlated with economic status. Parents have more leisure and energy at higher economic levels to give personal help to their children, as well as more school knowledge themselves. Turley notes that HISD comprises mostly poor children, not the well-off.

We must have a revolution of values, for the good of all.

Paul L. Rowe, Houston

From school shootings to school district takeovers, it seems that parenting is the real key. Here are my thoughts and advice to parents after 67 years.

Mark Brooker, Houston

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This old white guy won't vote for a Republican any time soon (Opinion) - Houston Chronicle

Republican Assembly slate in LD14 gets off-the-line challenger – New Jersey Globe | New Jersey Politics

Bina Shah, a Republican who ran for the 14th legislative district in 2019 and 2021, will run again for the Assembly this year despite not getting party support.

I ran in 2019, when nobody wanted to run, Shah told the New Jersey Globe. In 2021, I ran and came very close. So why not again in 2023?

The 14th district, which covers parts of Mercer and Middlesex Counties, leans Democratic but has hosted competitive races in the past. In 2021, Shah came in fourth place with 21% of the vote, losing to incumbent Assemblymen Wayne DeAngelo (D-Hamilton) and Dan Benson (D-Hamilton).

Central Jersey Republicans, who see the 14th district as a longshot pickup opportunity this year, are backing Patricia Johnson for the Senate and Adam Elias and Skye Gilmartin for the Assembly. Shah said that she was not consulted before the slate of candidates was chosen.

There was no discussion on anything, she said. They had the convention and told me, these are the winners, youre off the party line. And I said, okay, fine.

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Republican Assembly slate in LD14 gets off-the-line challenger - New Jersey Globe | New Jersey Politics

Democrat and Republican club presidents bring new life to UM … – Daily Mississippian

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

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

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

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

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