Mediaboss Marketing

Get federal, state and suburban county executive races here.

The Republican slate for Joliet Township government offices was determined at the party's caucus to appear on the ballot on the April 6 municipal election.

The Joliet Township Republican Organization announced its slate of candidates after its caucus on Tuesday, according to a news release. The partisan process for township government is different from a traditional primary election in that voters need to physically gather in one space and vote for their candidates of choice.

Diane Harris is the party's nominee for township supervisor. She ran for Joliet City Council in 2017.

John Lawson won the Republican nomination for township highway commissioner. The trustee nominees are Jason King, Tim Hendricks, Jan Nahorski and Mike Carruthers.

All GOP township positions were open for nomination and the slate won unanimously.

Harris said her slate is focused on arguing for "ethics and transparency" in government, especially in light of last year's allegations against the sitting township supervisor of misusing government funds and workers.

"The people deserve better," she said.

Many of the incumbent Democrats in township government, including the supervisor, were ousted in that party's caucus.

Read the original here:
Joliet Township Republicans nominate their candidates for 2021 election - The Herald-News

I got a sore neck from reading Ann Wombles piece in the Nov. 29 Sunday LNP | LancasterOnline (Reflections from a former Republican on the fact-free GOP).

My head went alternately up and down in accord and then left and right in sharp disagreement with her opinions. We are completely aligned in her view of Donald Trumps presidency. His moral character is deplorable. He repeatedly violates the most basic standards of civility and compassion. He shows no shame in putting his personal political interests ahead of Americas. He was a poor manager of the White House, by every measure. He eroded valuable foreign alliances forged over the decades.

I also joined her and so many Republicans in their dismay as he took over the voice and the structure of the national GOP. With the exception of appointments to the federal bench, the national party of Trump abandoned the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and the mainstream conservatism of Ronald Reagan and both Presidents Bush. That compassionate conservatism has shown over the decades to be of immense appeal to Americans.

Womble asserted that the Republican Party had become unmoored from its founding tenets in the name of winning by any means necessary; it became nothing more than a slavish and cowardly cult of personality.

She goes too far and she does not go far enough. Her blanket condemnation of all Republicans on the national level is unfair and inaccurate. Further, the beating heart of the party is in state and local governance. There is much to admire at those levels.

Look at Lancaster County. In more than a century and a half of actual practice, this county has been governed by Republicans. Not perfectly not without a few officeholders who were below-average in their jobs but, by and large, by competent public servants who went about their jobs with diligence and character.

The local Republican Partys contribution to good government has been twofold. First, it insists that anyone who would run for or retain office demonstrate competence and character. This is applied in a screening and vetting process, carried out by more than 300 GOP committee men and women, who meet with those who seek office and the partys endorsement. Some good people have run and won without that endorsement. But those people, too, have been held to the same level of scrutiny in election campaigns as the endorsed candidates.

The second contribution to good government is the actual heritage of the Republican Partys remarkable record. Voters know of the long history of high standards for the partys leaders. Even if they do not know the candidates, they can lean on the long experience of good people doing a good job in government when choosing to support the GOP candidates. They trust the GOP brand.

Finally, good government leads to an enhanced quality of social and economic life in Lancaster County. To govern is to choose, and GOP officeholders have generally made good choices in their jobs. Those choices started with the premise that they are there to serve the balanced best interests of the people of the county people of all interests, personal identities and political persuasions.

It isnt just fiscal restraint, improvement of infrastructure, support of agriculture and public services and managing growth, important as those are. It is more basic. It is an attitude of servant leadership, rare in our nation today, but prevalent in Republicans who hold office here. It is also ingrained in the fine men and women whom voters have sent to represent us in the Pennsylvania Legislature and indeed in Congressman Lloyd Smucker, who does not get enough credit for the everyday service he and his office quietly and consistently provide to meet the specific needs of his constituents.

Womble concludes eloquently with the hope that we see a new political center arise. Yes, but not with the fanciful notion of a new political movement.

Bidding farewell to Trump opens the doors for new dynamic Republican leadership at the national level. The center is there in the hearts and minds of the American people, including tens of millions of Democrats. Republicans offer the best opportunity to seek that center and serve it at every level. The GOP has not lost its way. We can trust it in the long run.

Bill Adams is a retired business executive and community volunteer. He resides in West Lampeter Township.

Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

See the rest here:
The Republican Party still can be trusted in Lancaster County [column] - LancasterOnline

If the last two years of the Obama administration were any indication, theyll freeze them out, Durbin said. Hope springs eternal but I believe in history.

Biden, who chaired the Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995, will be confronting an institution thats only become more partisan since he left it, especially when it comes to the courts. Last month, Amy Coney Barrett became the first Supreme Court justice in 151 years not to receive a single vote from the minority party.

Even though most Republicans still wont recognize that Biden is the president-elect, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee next year, said that he would of course consider Biden's judicial nominees. If Republicans keep the Senate, they'll be in the unusual position of vetting and pushing through the minority party's nominations. President George H.W. Bush was the last president to take power without his party in control of the Senate, though Republicans only held the Senate for a few months during the beginning of his sons presidency.

Members of both parties acknowledge that with a divided government, Bidens nominees will need to be a compromise, like everything else.

If we keep the Senate, then itll be a negotiation, said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and McConnell ally. Perhaps [Biden] will welcome the fact that the most radical nominees will not be confirmed by a Republican majority. That well actually have to negotiate and come up with something thats agreeable to both sides.

Your guide to the year-round campaign cycle.

But negotiation could prove challenging, particularly given McConnells affinity for filling the courts with conservative judges and the hard line some Senate Republicans have already taken on judicial nominees, even with a Republican president.

I imagine theyll have a tough time just because Im not going to vote for people who I think are, to use my words, judicial imperialists, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), whose opposition helped sink Trumps nominee to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. But maybe hell surprise me if [Biden] is indeed the president, who knows, maybe hell send up nominees who are constitutionalists and textualists. I kind of doubt it.

In addition to a possible Republican Senate, Biden will take office with far fewer vacancies than Trump, who entered the White House with 112 vacancies, including a Supreme Court seat, 86 district court seats and 17 circuit court seats. Obama, by contrast, had 53 vacancies. Since Trumps inauguration, the Senate has confirmed well over 200 judges, including three Supreme Court justices.

There are currently 59 vacancies to the federal judiciary, with 36 nominees pending including one appellate court nominee and 27 district court nominees. Senate Republicans are planning to continue confirming judges throughout the lame duck session.

The good news is that weve done a good job and were not done as you know filling the vacancies that there are on the appellate courts to minimize the opportunity for more liberals on it, said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).

In this image from video, the vote total in the U.S. Senate on the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to become a Supreme Court justice is seen Oct. 26, 2020. | Senate Television via AP

Even though Republicans have maintained a relentless focus on judges, vacancies during the Biden presidency will inevitably arise. And he may even see a Supreme Court retirement. Justice Stephen Breyer, nominated by former President Bill Clinton, is 82. Some judges have also delayed retirement, with the hope of a Democratic president taking office. The question will be whether Republicans allow Biden to replace them.

Theres vacancies that you can predict because of age, but then theres all these others, said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Hell have a number of opportunities Im sure ... maybe not immediately just because vacancies have been filled, but over the course of four years I think hell have quite a few.

Both Democratic and Republican senators suggested that Biden may have an easier time filling vacancies for district court nominees because of the so-called blue slip process, under which a home state senator has input over whether the Judiciary Committee considers a judicial nominee. Republicans scrapped blue slips for appellate court nominees a heated point of contention with Democrats but have kept them for lower court picks.

A Republican Senate also takes the prospect of court reform off the table. Democrats are still seething over McConnells blocking of Obamas Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016 as well as the rushed Barrett confirmation, and some on the left have called for adding seats to the high court. Biden stayed away from court packing during his campaign and instead proposed a bipartisan commission to review court reform proposals. But with the GOP in control, Bidens only prospect for impact on the courts would likely be who he nominates to the federal bench.

The president-elects allies are hoping that Bidens longstanding relationship with McConnell and Senate Republicans will translate to his nominees getting confirmed, though McConnell has yet to even acknowledge that Biden won the White House.

Joe Biden ran for president on bringing us together and making the Congress work again as one of his core priorities, said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a Biden confidant. If anyone can sit down and work out with [McConnell] ... a way to come to an agreement that we will move nominees, its President-elect Biden. I have lived through years and years of McConnells obstruction. I know this will be a challenging task.

Bidens presidency will ultimately serve as a test for whether both parties can move past the brutal battles over the nominations of Garland, Barrett and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, as well as the partisan finger-pointing over Senate rules changes. Republicans often highlight that Democrats lowered the 60-vote threshold for confirming lower court judges in 2013. But Democrats are quick to counter that it was McConnell who gutted the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees in 2017.

Some Democrats are trying to keep an open mind about the possibility of divided government and are reluctant to predict how their Republican colleagues may act next year.

I know how Mitch McConnell approached Obamas nominees which was not a very hospitable approach, said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). I can certainly try to predict McConnells future behavior by past behavior but hope springs eternal. I would hope that we dont end up in a place where McConnell is trying to keep vacancies open for 2025."

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

Read this article:
Theyll freeze them out: Democrats fear Senate Republicans will block Bidens judges - POLITICO

A fight is brewing over President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenTrump floats a Doug Collins run against Kemp for Georgia governor Defiant Trump insists election was 'rigged' at rally for Georgia Senate Republicans Biden victory, vaccine and an anniversary: good karma for the Mediterranean? MOREs Cabinet picks, in one of the first faceoffs between the long-time dealmaker and Senate Republicans.

Tensions are building on various fronts, from complaints that Bidens team isnt coordinating with Senate Republicans to warnings that he should expect a slower pace of confirmation after years-long frustrations from GOP senators about the treatment of President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump floats a Doug Collins run against Kemp for Georgia governor Defiant Trump insists election was 'rigged' at rally for Georgia Senate Republicans Trump offers condolences to family, friends of Loeffler campaign staffer who died MOREs nominees.

Biden will need GOP buy-in to ensure confirmation of his picks unless Democrats sweep the two Georgia runoff elections next month.

I really am a little surprised ... that there hadnt been at least some consultation. I mean, some of these problems can be avoided and people, you know, saved from the embarrassment if there would simply be some consultation on who theyre thinking about, said Sen. John CornynJohn CornynSenate GOP brushes off long-shot attempt to fight Biden win Why the polls weren't as wrong as you think Lawmakers pressure leaders to reach COVID-19 relief deal MORE (R-Texas), an adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellCongress eyes 1-week stopgap, longer session to reach deal State, local officials plead for vaccine distribution funds On The Money: Unemployment gains lower than expected | Jobs report lights fire under coronavirus relief talks MORE (R-Ky.).

Asked about consulting with Republicans, Sen. Kevin CramerKevin John CramerThe Hill's 12:30 Report Presented by Capital One Pressure builds as UK approves COVID-19 vaccine Republican frustration builds over Cabinet picks Republicans ready to become deficithawks again under a President Biden MORE (R-N.D.) said, Unless youre putting all your eggs in the Were going to win them both in Georgia basket, that would be a wise thing to do.

Sen. Mike RoundsMike RoundsHillicon Valley: Government used Patriot Act to gather website visitor logs in 2019 | Defense bill leaves out Section 230 repeal, includes White House cyber czar position | Officials warn hackers are targeting vaccine supply chain Defense policy bill would create new cyber czar position Trump doubles down on Section 230 repeal after GOP pushback MORE (R-S.D.) added that while there was still time for Biden to do outreach, he should keep in mind the views of Republicans who will be wary of anything that will obliterate work done under the Trump administration.

As Biden is attempting to lay out people that he thinks should be part of his Cabinet, we hope that he takes that into consideration, Rounds said.

McConnell still hasnt directly acknowledged Biden as the president-elect, and the former vice president disclosed on Tuesday that he hadnt spoken with the Senate GOP leader following the election. The two have a decades-long relationship and served together in the Senate, but any overtures between them have been on ice since Nov. 3.

Cornyn predicted Republicans would be open to reasonable nominees. But, he added, the onus was on Bidens team to reach out to McConnell.

Nominations, once largely drama-free, have emerged as lightning rods in the Senate. Democrats changed the rules in 2013 to allow all executive branch picks, and most judicial nominees, to get confirmed with a simple majority. And under a rules change in 2019 by Senate Republicans, most nominations now only require two hours of debate after overcoming a procedural hurdle on the floor, though most Cabinet picks could still face up to 30 hours of additional debate.

Republicans were frustrated in 2017 when Democrats agreed to let just two of Trumps Cabinet picks be confirmed on the first day of his administration, compared to six for then-President Obama and seven for then-President George W. Bush. By Feb. 10, Trump had seven confirmed nominees compared to Obamas 12 and Bushs 14, which was his entire Cabinet.

Democrats are ramping up pressure to quickly confirm Bidens Cabinet picks, including holding hearings before Inauguration Day.

Republican senators often argued that a president deserves broad deference when it comes to their Cabinet and official appointments and blew past controversies that would in almost any other time be disqualifying. President-elect Bidens nominees, of course, are in a different universe, Schumer said.

Well, were already starting to see the switch flip now that President-elect Biden is naming the names, Schumer added.

But Republicans, pointing back to 2017, warn that Democrats should expect delays in getting at least some of Bidens picks through the Senate if they keep control of the majority after the Jan. 5 runoffs.

I dont think theres going to be a great big hurry to confirm a whole lot of individuals right away. ... Its an advice and consenttype issue with the Senate, particularly when youre from different parties, Rounds said.

Cramer said that when it comes to nominations, Democrats have made this bed. They may end up sleeping in it.

If we have the majority ... any one of us can put a hold on somebody. And if we honor that, thats a pretty big problem for him, Cramer said.

Battle lines are already being drawn on key picks like Neera Tanden for director of the Office of Management and Budget and Antony Blinken for secretary of State. Biden has yet to name his picks for more politically controversial agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Cornyn called Tanden radioactive. Sens. Rob PortmanRobert (Rob) Jones PortmanWaPo reporter says GOP has less incentive to go big on COVID-19 relief Republican frustration builds over Cabinet picks Senators call for passage of bill to cement alcohol excise tax relief MORE (R-Ohio) and Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamWhy the polls weren't as wrong as you think Graham reports 'record-breaking' 9M haul during 2020 campaign Lawmakers pressure leaders to reach COVID-19 relief deal MORE (R-S.C.), who will oversee the two committees with joint oversight of Tandens nomination, havent committed to giving her a confirmation hearing.

Blinken, a longtime member of the foreign policy establishment, is coming under scrutiny because of his role at WestExec Advisors, a consultancy firm whose clients remain opaque. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch (R-Idaho) has brushed off questions from reporters this week about Blinken and about Bidens other national security picks.

Sen. Ron JohnsonRonald (Ron) Harold JohnsonWatch live: Senate panel holds Russia investigation hearing Republican frustration builds over Cabinet picks Grassley returns to Capitol after having coronavirus MORE (R-Wis.) wanted to talk to Blinken as part of his investigation into the Bidens an issue he hinted could come up during Blinkens confirmation process unless he agrees to an interview with Johnsons Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee staff beforehand.

Johnson also didnt rule out that he could keep trying to speak with Blinken as part of the probe even if hes confirmed as secretary of State. Though Johnson is handing over the committee gavel, hes expected to be chairman of the panels Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Its probably important for him to sit down and talk to us now. Hes got some answers that he needs to provide us with, Johnson said, adding that hes not really happy with Blinken.

Even as some GOP senators are sending warning signs over the looming confirmation fights, several have said that as long as Bidens picks are within the mainstream, Republicans would help confirm them.

Graham said he thought there would be a willingness by a lot of us to help confirm Cabinet picks for individuals who are competent, qualified, not over the top.

Pressed if he thought any of his GOP colleagues would use the rules to drag out or delay Bidens picks, Graham demurred, adding: Time will tell.

See more here:
Republican frustration builds over Cabinet picks | TheHill - The Hill

When Joe Biden is inaugurated, he will immediately be confronted with an unprecedented challenge and I dont mean the pandemic, although Covid-19 will almost surely be killing thousands of Americans every day. I mean, instead, that hell be the first modern U.S. president trying to govern in the face of an opposition that refuses to accept his legitimacy. And no, Democrats by and large were not claiming Donald Trump was illegitimate, just that he was incompetent and dangerous.

It goes without saying that Donald Trump, whose conspiracy theories are getting wilder and wilder, will never concede, and that millions of his followers will always believe or at least say they believe that the election was stolen.

Most Republicans in Congress certainly know this is a lie, although even on Capitol Hill there are a lot more crazy than wed like to imagine. But it doesnt matter; they still wont accept that Biden has any legitimacy, even though he won the popular vote by a large margin.

And this wont simply be because they fear a backlash from the base if they admit that Trump lost fair and square. At a fundamental level and completely separate from the Trump factor todays G.O.P. doesnt believe that Democrats ever have the right to govern, no matter how many votes they receive.

After all, in recent years weve seen what happens when a state with a Republican legislature elects a Democratic governor: Legislators quickly try to strip away the governors powers. So does anyone doubt that Republicans will do all they can to hobble and sabotage Bidens presidency?

The only real questions are how much harm the G.O.P. can do, and how Biden will respond.

The answer to the first question depends a lot on what happens in the Jan. 5 Georgia Senate runoffs. If Democrats win both seats, theyll have effective though narrow control of both houses of Congress. If they dont, Mitch McConnell will have enormous powers of obstruction and anyone who doubts that hell use those powers to undermine Biden at every turn is living in a fantasy world.

But how much damage would obstructionism inflict? In terms of economic policy which is all Ill talk about in this column the near future can be divided into two eras, pre- and post-vaccine (or more accurately, after wide dissemination of a vaccine).

For the next few months, as the pandemic continues to run wild, tens of millions of Americans will be in desperate straits unless the federal government steps up to help. Unfortunately, Republicans may be in a position to block this help.

The good news about the very near future, such as it is, is that Americans will probably (and correctly) blame Donald Trump, not Joe Biden, for the misery theyre experiencing and this very fact may make Republicans willing to cough up at least some money.

What about the post-vaccine economy? Here again theres potentially some good news: Once a vaccine becomes widely available, well probably see a spontaneous economic recovery, one that wont depend on Republican cooperation. And there will also be a vast national sense of relief.

So Biden might do OK for a while even in the face of scorched-earth Republican opposition. But we cant be sure of that. Republicans might refuse to confirm anyone for key economic positions. Theres always the possibility of another financial crisis and outgoing Trump officials have been systematically undermining the incoming administrations ability to deal with such a crisis if it happens. And America desperately needs action on issues from infrastructure, to climate change, to tax enforcement that wont happen if Republicans retain blocking power.

So what can Biden do?

First, he needs to start talking about immediate policy actions to help ordinary Americans, if only to make it clear to Georgia voters how much damage will be done if they dont elect Democrats to those two Senate seats.

If Democrats dont get those seats, Biden will need to use executive action to accomplish as much as possible despite Republican obstruction although I worry that the Trump-stacked Supreme Court will try to block him when he does.

Finally, although Biden is still talking in a comforting way about unity and reaching across the aisle, at some point hell need to stop reassuring us that hes nothing like Trump and start making Republicans pay a political price for their attempts to prevent him from governing.

Now, I dont mean that he should sound like Trump, demanding retribution against his enemies although the Justice Department should be allowed to do its job and prosecute whatever Trump-era crimes it finds.

No, what Biden needs to do is what Harry Truman did in 1948, when he built political support by running against do-nothing Republicans. And hell have a better case than Truman ever did, because todays Republicans are infinitely more corrupt and less patriotic than the Republicans Truman faced.

The results of this years election, with a solid Biden win but Republicans doing well down-ballot, tells us that American voters dont fully understand what the modern G.O.P. is really about. Biden needs to get that point across, and make Republicans pay for the sabotage we all know is coming.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.

Here is the original post:
How Will Biden Deal With Republican Sabotage? - The New York Times