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Republicans are demandingthat the Supreme Court stand up for the Manhattan District Attorney's office as it fights for subpoenas of President Donald Trump's taxes.

Newsweekreported that37 Republicans have signed onto a briefdemanding the High Court uphold the DA. The brief was filed Monday by the Republicans, including former members of Congress and the Executive Branch as well as notorious Trump antagonists George Conway and John Dean.

The group said in the brief that they "are concerned that President Trump's assertions of absolute immunity from process, while in office and more generally his arguments against accountability in any forum could impose lasting damage on our constitutional system of checks and balances as well as on the rule of law."

It also argues that Trump's lawyers are demanding the court "depart radically from that principle by holding that criminal investigations may not touch the president's affairs in any way, even when those investigations require nothing at all from the president."

"This extraordinary assertion is not based on any specific claim of privilege, but rather on a sweeping claim of absolute immunity," the brief continues.

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The case they reference is part of a grand jury investigation into alleged payments Trump made to women he allegedly had affairs with.

Federal judges have already ruled against Trump, which is why it's now appearing before the court, who will hear oral arguments March 31.

"The Framers designed a system in which no one is above the law, not even the president. Historically, this court has adhered to that principle. It should do so again and affirm the decision of the Second Circuit," the brief explains.

Read the full report atNewsweek.

See the rest here:
Dozens of Republicans tell the Supreme Court to force President Trump to turn over his taxes - Salon

The state of Virginia just made history as the first Southern state to pass a ban on anti-gay conversion therapy.

The heartening development to outlaw the discredited practice, in which pseudoscience is employed to try to change peoples sexual orientation, came largely at the behest of Virginia Democrats and was signed into law by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam on Monday. While the Democrats do deserve credit on this one, its also important to recognize the dozen Virginia Republican state legislators who bucked the rest of their party to come down on the right side of this vote.

The bill, HB 386, outlaws licensed counselors and medical professionals from offering minors any practice or treatment that seeks to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender. Importantly, it only applies to those under age 18.

Bans on this kind of anti-gay conversion therapy are something everyone should support, regardless of political persuasion or even personal religious views on homosexuality. Why? Because conversion therapy doesnt work. Its a debunked form of medical malpractice and fraud, something even die-hard libertarians think should be illegal.

Theres really no disputing this point. Almost all of the major medical organizations condemn conversion therapy, and theres essentially zero evidence of it ever working. As I previously wrote:

Of course, its not just that conversion therapy doesnt work. Neither does tarot-card reading or fortune-telling, but those arent illegal. The reason Virginia lawmakers are right that anti-gay conversion therapy must be outlawed is because its not just ineffective, but demonstrably harmful, so much so that it puts young peoples lives at risk.

One study showed that youth who faced familial pressure to change their sexual orientation were more than twice as likely to attempt suicide. Those who faced formal conversion efforts from religious clergy were three times as likely to attempt to kill themselves.

Increasingly, this is becoming a point of bipartisan consensus. Republicans governors such as Larry Hogan and Charlie Baker have signed bans on conversion therapy into law, and even Utahs Republican-controlled state legislature just outlawed the fraudulent practice. Now, in Virginia, its heartening to see a dozen Republicans backing the ban as well, even if many still opposed it.

State Sen. Jill Vogel broke with all the other Republicans in the Virginia Senate to vote for the bill. Meanwhile, in the House, 11 brave Republicans crossed the aisle to vote to ban the practice. This is an encouraging sign of progress. Lets hope even more Virginia Republicans come around on this issue soon.

Original post:
Cheers to the 12 Virginia Republicans who backed gay conversion therapy ban - Washington Examiner

Senate Republicans on Thursday battered Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning for carrying water for Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Medicaid expansion and placing GOP candidates in jeopardy in an election year.

The backlash was a response to Denning and Kelly's appearance Monday in Wichita to promote a Medicaid expansion deal the two reached before the session began in January.

Criticism of Denning erupted during a meeting of Senate Republicans, with Denning and Senate President Susan Wagle sitting side by side. Wagle, a Wichita Republican who has vowed to prevent passage of Medicaid expansion, said Denning betrayed his caucus by teaming up with a Democratic rival.

"For us, all of a sudden you changed direction, Wagle said. You stood with the governor, and you carried the governor's water on a bill she wanted. And now, we're being put in a very bad situation in Sedgwick County."

Another Wichita Republican, Sen. Gene Suellentrop, said Denning has lost the support of a majority of the Senate GOP caucus. Denning didnt notify Senate Republicans that he planned to make the appearance alongside the governor, Suellentrop said.

In Wichita, Denning and Kelly welcomed constituents to call GOP holdouts on Medicaid expansion, which would unlock federal funding and provide health insurance to an estimated 130,000 low-income Kansas adults and children.

"I'll ask you to make a commitment to the caucus that you will not travel with the Democrat governor again to other districts to bully us, or whatever you want to call it, Suellentrop said.

No, Denning replied. Im not going to make that commitment.

Wagle and Denning have been at odds from the start of the session, when Wagle used her authority to place Medicaid expansion in a committee controlled by Suellentrop. Wagle wanted to use Medicaid expansion, a top priority for Democrats, as leverage for her efforts to rewrite the Kansas Constitution to clarify it offers no right to abortion.

When the proposed abortion amendment failed to gain two-thirds majority support in the House, Wagle responded by stifling progress on bills passed by the House, introduced by Democrats or relating to health care.

"We had a conversation at the beginning of the session, Denning said, and she said, 'My leadership position as Senate president will be to kill Medicaid. Your position as Senate majority leader will be to do anything you can to pass it. "

Suellentrop and Wagle expressed concern that Dennings push for Medicaid expansion will hurt vulnerable Republican candidates.

In Wagles district, Republican Rep. Renee Erickson faces a challenge from former Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston, who is running for the Democrats. Elsewhere in Wichita, Republican Sen. Mike Petersen is up against Democratic Rep. Jim Ward.

The political stakes are heightened by anti-abortion lobbyists who want to install their proposed amendment before passing Medicaid expansion to avoid any possibility of taxpayer-funded abortions.

"Our biggest voting bloc in the primary is the pro-life community, Wagle said. We cannot be asked to step on that community and get re-elected, so you're putting us in a very difficult spot, Jim. Very, very difficult."

Suellentrop said Denning was supposed to come up with a plan to be used only if Medicaid expansion couldnt be stopped.

"The understanding was the bill was here in case we got rolled, Suellentrop said.

Ethan Patterson, the chief of staff for Denning, said a small faction of six or seven Senate Republicans was trying to block the legislative process.

Kansans want lawmakers to work together, Patterson said, and weve had 10 years in this building where bipartisanship did not exist.

"If the caucus does decide Jim Denning is not the leader for them anymore, we know w'ere on the right side of this issue not only for our district but for the state on what people want and what the masses want, Patterson said. So we're going to sleep easy easy tonight and moving forward."

Last month, Suellentrops committee sent a message to Denning by attaching work requirements and other controversial provisions, then voting it down anyway.

One of the changes installed by Suellentrops committee would allow health care providers to refuse service for anything that violates their conscience, which is defined as deeply held religious beliefs. That language routinely is used to protect institutions that refuse service on the basis of sexual preference or gender identity.

Denning retaliated by introducing legislation that would apply the faith-based exemption for all health care services. Patterson said the bill was aimed at the Truth Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans.

"If they want that debate, we can have that debate, but what we do not want is that debate to have to be tied to Medicaid, Patterson said. The Truth Caucus little faction within the ranks here believes that if they put that on, it automatically kills Medicaid because the governor will not sign it. That is the whole purpose of tying that to Medicaid."

Suellentrop said he hasnt scheduled a hearing on the proposal because Denning hasnt talked to him about it.

Tom Witt, executive director of Equality Kansas, said the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents of the state were tired of being used as political footballs.

"Now they're willing to play a game where LGBT people are denied health care and we just die, Witt said. It's the most disgusting and vile thing I have seen come out of this building in several years."

View original post here:
Senate Republicans blast majority leader for working with governor on Medicaid expansion - Hays Daily News

In public, Republicans minimize the long-term implications of Trump. Dan Crenshaw, a freshman congressman for Houston and a rising star in national circles, argued that Texans can distinguish between national and local Republicans. To his point, Greg Abbott, the popular incumbent governor, had a 60% approval rating among Latinos in that very same Lyceum poll. But Trump at the top of the ticket is a major drag on state Republicans. In 2018, when Trump wasnt even on the ballot, Republicans lost 12 State House seats and two U.S. House seats. With Trump as the face and brand of the partyand with members of the state party increasingly identifying as Trump Republicans rather than traditional Republicans, according to primary pollingthe Texas GOP has an uphill fight to hold on to its dwindling portion of the Latino vote. As one Texas Republican strategist put it to me, it doesnt work to say that we are a welcoming party, we are working for you, but we are also a little bit racist.

Behind the scenes, however, the party is attempting to adjust to a new reality. Some in the GOP have tried to distance themselves from Trumpism in subtle ways, or at least to foster a Texas Republican brand focused more narrowly on core issues. In the most recent legislative session, the Republican-controlled legislature abandoned its fixation with bathroom bills in favor of school funding issues, property taxes, and other economic issues. And they are reaching out to new voters. Crenshaw, for one, has made a point of visiting schools, and even convened a youth summit, headlined by Nikki Haley, for almost 2,000 young conservatives. James Dickey, the Republican state chair, told me he spends much of his time counseling Texas Republicans that they can win if they work hard, but risk losing if they take success for granted. He believes the message has gotten through: No one says bless your heart to me anymore when I tell them we have to work to save Texas.

They also think they have a hidden ace. Trump may be a millstone among Latinos, but many Republicans believe that the national Democrats are an equal vulnerability in Texas. Dickey seemed content with the fact that, in his view, the national Democrats have lost their minds. Crenshaw nodded when I asked whether Sanders would be a boon to Texas Republicans, and he seemed pleased with the possibility, until he noted with some horror, What would happen if he won?

For now the numbers still favor the GOP. In January, Democrats fared poorly in a hotly contested special election in House District 28. Both parties invested heavily, but Republicans were more effective in tying the Democrats to locally unpalatable positions on guns and health care. It all resulted in a thumping 16-point defeat. Lets not overstate the importance of an off-cycle State House special electionGary Gates, the winner, wont even get to attend a legislative session before his term expiresbut it is a signal of how the next election will be fought. Manny Garcia, the executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, sees Texas as a battleground state today, but the Republicans still hold the home field edge. Trumps margin of 807,179 votes in 2016 has surely been eroded by changing demographics and motivations, but it likely has not disappeared. It will take an unusual, but not impossible, combination of events for Democrats to overcome that lead.

All this has energized Texas Democrats, though you wouldnt know it from party headquarters: a shabby suite in an equally tired building on the outskirts of Austin. But inside Suite 508, the sense of excitement is palpable; on a recent Monday evening, dozens of staffers and volunteers shuttled back and forth making calls, sending tweets, organizing block walks, and doing whatever else a modern campaign requires. Being a permanent minority is difficult. Money dries up, volunteers and voters stay home, and potential candidates dont bother to run. But a lot has changed in the wake of the 2018 uprising. When I asked Garcia how things have shifted over his dozen years in state politics, he said the biggest change is belief. That belief is evident in the campaign office, but also in candidate-recruitment efforts. More than 1,000 people participated in a recent candidate-training program, and for the first time in memory, Democrats will likely contest every election in every county in Texas in 2020.

Excerpt from:
Trump Could Doom Republicans in Texas. The Party Is Still in Denial. - Vanity Fair

SALEM Sen. Tim Knopp and Rep. Cheri Helt represent the middle of the state, and in the past week, have found themselves in a new political middle.

They are the only Republicans who have not participated in a boycott against a proposal that aims to cut Oregons greenhouse gas emissions.

All other Republicans, including Eastern Oregon Republicans Sen. Bill Hansell of Athena, Rep. Greg Smith of Heppner and Rep. Greg Barreto of Cove, left the building last week, a move that effectively halts most legislative activity. The constitution requires that each chamber have two-thirds of its members present to vote on bills.

The other Republicans may not return before the constitution requires lawmakers to close up shop Sunday. Dozens of proposed bills and budget stopgaps could die.

Now, with mere days left in the 2020 Legislature, hope for a resolution is a rare sentiment around the Oregon Capitol.

Helt, of Bend, may be the exception.

Im here in hopes that we can reach a compromise, Helt, a restaurant owner, said in an interview Tuesday. We need both parties to come together and be able to create legislation thats good for all Oregonians. And my hope is that leadership can come together and we can continue to finish off session.

Both Helt and Knopp, also of Bend, represent districts where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans in rapidly growing Central Oregon.

Jason Kropf, a Democrat, has filed to run against Helt, while two Democrats, Eileen Kiely and Brian Hinderberger, have filed to run for Knopps seat, according to state Elections Division records.

But Knopp and Helt insist their presence is not intended to appease voters who could give them a pink slip in November if they disapproved of Republican walkouts.

For me, these choices are not about elections, Helt said. These choices are about representing my constituents.

You have to represent your district, Knopp said in his office, where hed propped open a window to let the early spring breeze in. And its not about what would please Democrats. Its about representing the entire district.

In January, the public opinion research firm FM3 interviewed 750 Oregonians over the phone and online who were likely to vote in November, asking them whether they supported or opposed repeated walkouts by Republicans in the state legislature.

Thirty-six percent of respondents said they strongly or somewhat supported repeated walkouts by Republicans, while 59% said they somewhat or strongly opposed the tactic. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level.

These days, Oregon voters cant be sliced up into two neat halves. Nonaffiliated voters those who register with no party make up a larger share of voters than registered Republicans do.

In Knopps district, there are more nonaffiliated voters than there are Democrats, and in Helts district, nonaffiliated voters are only slightly outnumbered by Democrats, according to the Secretary of States Office.

The FM3 poll also asked nonaffiliated voters whether they were more or less likely to vote for a state senator who had walked out, and found that 63% were somewhat or strongly less likely to vote for such a candidate.

On Tuesday, two proposed measures to rein in the use of walkouts got incrementally closer to the ballot, according to a press release from Service Employees International Union 503, one of the states largest unions.

One petition would disqualify a lawmaker from running again for their House or Senate seat if they had 10 or more unexcused absences from a floor session, while the other petition would fine each lawmaker who walked out $500 a day, cancel their salary and daily expense payments, and would prohibit lawmakers from using campaign funds to pay for expenses associated with walking out.

Knopp, who is executive vice president of the Central Oregon Builders Association and executive director of Partners for Affordable Housing, participated in a walkout last year over an earlier version of the climate bill. He said he had a lot of input from constituents over the last six months.

They want me oppose cap and trade, but they want me to do it in the building and try to be constructive to try to find a consensus solution, Knopp said. My district likes bipartisanship.

Helt said she made it clear to her fellow Republicans that she would not walk out, but said she couldnt recall the moment she made that decision.

I do yes votes. I do no votes, Helt said. I dont do walkouts. I dont do boycotts.

Over the past week, Knopp and Helt have attended floor sessions. Knopp has attended policy committee meetings which have been rare in the waning days of session and Helt traveled back to Bend on Monday to host a roundtable discussion on the coronavirus.

Helt said she is not caucusing with Republicans, and Knopp said that hes not talking formally with his Republican colleagues.

Theyre caucusing and have their own strategy, and my strategy is to be here, Helt said. And, hopefully we can get people to work together and compromise and move forward.

Knopp and Helt have broken with their party before. Last year, Helt proposed tightening immunization requirements for public school students, a measure that drew fierce Republican opposition.

That proposal was sacrificed by Democrats in a deal to get Senate Republicans to end their May 2019 boycott over a school funding bill.

Knopp ticked off a list of issues that hes worked on over the years with Democratic colleagues, including a recent law creating a program for workers to take paid leave from work when they have a child or need to take care of a sick relative.

Helt said she had received positive remarks from constituents about not participating in the boycott.

Theyre glad that Im here, Helt said. I think that Bend wants a sensible center, pragmatic representative, and Im hoping that I meet those needs they will be deciding in the election.

Knopp said his office has received a lot of emails and calls.

Most people are respectful, but theres a lot of passion behind the issue, Knopp said. I understand that. I think if you are looking to avoid criticism, serving in the Oregon Legislature is not the place for you.

Read more from the original source:
Two Central Oregon lawmakers are the lone 2 Republicans remaining in the Capitol - East Oregonian