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MILWAUKEE Democrats are working overtime this election cycle to oust their public enemy No. 1: Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

Mr. Johnson is facing a tidal wave of Democratic challengers seeking to defeat the Republican firebrand, citing their irreconcilable disagreements over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, his leadership of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and his oft-repeated doubts about the integrity of the 2020 election.

Tom Nelson, one of several Democrats vying for Mr. Johnsons seat, said animosity toward the senator has grown in the past decade and the more than dozen challengers running to defeat him showcase that.

Back in 2010, you could count on [Mr. Johnson] to spit out traditional conservative Republican talking points, tea party talking points, railing against Obama and Obamacare, but in 2020, things really began to change, Mr. Nelson said. He is pretty much the manifestation of Donald Trump for 2022.

Mr. Nelson, the executive of Outagamie County in the northeast part of Wisconsin, is one of more than 10 Democrats seeking to replace Mr. Johnson.

Other Democrats challenging Mr. Johnson include Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, and Alex Lasry, the son of Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.

Long-shot Republican challengers include John Berman, a former engineer, and Adam Benedetto, who accused Mr. Johnson of perpetuating the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump.

Mr. Lasry, who grew up in New York, said he was motivated to run by the way Mr. Johnson has governed. He said the incumbent has brought few results back to Wisconsin.

For over a decade, Wisconsinites have only had one U.S. senator fighting for them in Washington while Ron Johnson has spent his two terms in office failing to deliver anything for the people of Wisconsin, Mr. Lasry told The Washington Times. The states other senator is Democrat Tammy Baldwin.

Ms. Godlewski has accused Mr. Johnson of using his platform to spread nonsense while ignoring working families.

Ron Johnson and I couldnt be more different. While hes focused on peddling conspiracy theories, voicing support for higher taxes on working families and calling on the GOP to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Ive spent my time as state treasurer delivering for working families, she said.

Since Mr. Johnson announced his reelection in January, liberal groups have poured at least $5.3 million into Wisconsin to defeat him. They are expected to expand their campaign donations until November. The incumbent entered January with $2.3 million in cash on hand for his campaign, over $1 million more than any Democrat.

Mr. Johnson, 67, is the only Republican senator running for reelection in a state President Biden won two years ago.

Mr. Biden took Wisconsin in 2020 by about 20,000 votes after Donald Trump narrowly flipped the state in 2016, breaking years of Democratic dominance. Republicans in the state Legislature ordered a review of the 2020 election, but Democratic officials filed legal challenges.

Mr. Johnsons campaign said it is confident in the senators record and tied Democrats to rising crime, inflation and overspending.

Based on what he has accomplished, Sen. Johnson believes he is in a strong position to win reelection, said Johnson campaign spokesman Jake Wilkins. His strategy will be to do what he has consistently done: work hard and simply tell the truth.

Mr. Wilkins said the campaign believes the only challenges Mr. Johnson faces are negative news coverage and outside money.

The Democrats strategy is obvious, Mr. Wilkins said. They will continue to lie about and distort his record and take everything he says out of context to falsely portray his stance on the issues. His biggest challenges will be the massive spending by liberal outside groups and the partisan liberal media that advocates for Democrats by pushing the radical lefts message and agenda.

Mr. Johnson is seeking his third term in office after speculation that he might retire after two terms. Mr. Trump offered his total endorsement a year ago, before Mr. Johnson announced his run for reelection.

The Oshkosh manufacturer came to Washington as a tea party-inspired political outsider in 2010 after defeating Democrat Russ Feingold, who lost again to Mr. Johnson in a 2016 rematch.

In more than a decade in office, Mr. Johnson swiftly raised his national profile, particularly by chairing the homeland security committee and focusing his investigations on conservative concerns such as the Chinese origins of COVID-19 and the financial dealings of Hunter Biden, the presidents son.

Mr. Johnson and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, recently revealed financial records indicating that an arm of the Chinese government transferred $100,000 to Hunter Biden.

Mr. Johnson has not shied away from downplaying the events of the 2021 Capitol riot, which a Democratic-led panel in the House is investigating.

The senator, who objected to certifying Mr. Bidens victory, last year referred to the riot as largely peaceful.

Mr. Johnsons positions that make him an enemy of Democrats have largely made him a champion among Republicans.

Rep. Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin Republican, said Mr. Johnson has a base that reaches beyond other Republican favorites in the state.

Hes loved in a way even [former Republican Gov.] Scott Walker wasnt, Mr. Grothman said.

Mr. Johnson has also been dealing with dropping poll numbers despite a loyal base among Republicans.

According to Morning Consult quarterly polls conducted from 2017 to 2021 among at least 2,517 registered Wisconsin voters, 36% approved of Mr. Johnsons job performance in the final months of 2021, compared with 51% who disapproved.

The poll carried an error margin of 3 percentage points.

Evan Finger, 23, of Kenosha, said he probably wouldnt vote for Mr. Johnson in November. He said the senator is too partisan.

I am not a huge fan of Mr. Johnson. He seems like a party loyalist, said Mr. Finger, adding that he is unsure which Democrat he would support in the general election.

Don Schnorr, 59, of Milwaukee, said he has supported Mr. Johnson in the past but is willing to listen to the platform of whichever Democrat is nominated.

Mr. Schnorr added, however, that he thinks Mr. Johnson is right to look into some of the issues that Democrats dismissed.

I think the things coming out now show that he wasnt such a nutcase about what Hunter Biden was up to, things of that nature on his laptop and his dealings with foreign governments, Mr. Schnorr said.

Wisconsins primary election will be held on Aug. 9.

Originally posted here:
Democrats battle to knock out Sen. Ron Johnson in tough election year - Washington Times

By his wedding day, Continetti had established himself as one of the Rights rising stars. He had published two books and had just launched a new outlet, The Washington Free Beacon, backed by hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer, and designed to serve as a conservative rejoinder to left-leaning websites like ThinkProgress. A presentable white guy with glasses and a full head of hairimagine if Chris Hayes had a Republican cousinContinetti was an ideal face for the respectable Right in the Obama era, a polite young man who happened to believe that fiscal responsibility entailed taking a meat cleaver to the welfare state. While Breitbart News was running a vertical on black crime, The Washington Free Beacon was earning praise from liberals for its commitment to breaking news. Continetti poked the establishment to get its attention, not to draw blood. I dont listen to talk radio, he told an interviewer. I listen to NPR. To liberals, the signals were clear. He was on the Right, sure, but he wasnt one of them.

And yet he could always be trusted to advance the conservative line with absolute sincerity. His second book, The Persecution of Sarah Palin, offered a prickly defense of an unpredictable and courageous politician in the grand American populist tradition. After the Tea Party made its debut, he celebrated the emergence of a grassroots movement devoted to self-reliance, fidelity, piety, industry, and responsibility. Continettis dreams of a populism fueled by entitlement reform had zero space for Occupy Wall Street. Inequalities of condition are a fact of life, he lectured as protesters were streaming to Zuccotti Park in 2011. Some people will always be poorer than others.

If one figure stood for Continettis ideal politician, it was Paul Ryan. A decade older than Continetti, Ryan was another clean-cut veteran of the conservative establishment. Continetti described him as the brains behind the Tea Party and called Ryans budget programincluding major reductions in government spending, tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy, and privatization of Medicarethe GOPs only ambitious and intellectually coherent policy response to a looming fiscal crisis. (Steve Bannon, who had a very different view of what fueled the Tea Party, called Ryan a limp-dick motherfucker who was born in a petri dish at the Heritage Foundation.) The details of Ryanism were politically toxic, but Continetti didnt worry about the polls. Ideas, even controversial ones, are not hindrances in politics but boosters, he wrote. They propel you to the top. When Ryan looked set to take over as speaker of the House in October 2015, Continetti saw it as a coming-of-age moment for the Rights next generation. Liberals are terrified of what these young conservatives might accomplish, he wrote. Liberals should be.

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The Struggle for the Soul of the GOP - The New Republic

From candy-filled egg hunts to parties and Easter bunny meetups, there is no shortage of ways to celebrate Easter in Philadelphia. Weve rounded up a mix of Easter events perfect for heading out solo or bringing the entire family.

Whether you go out or hunt for eggs at home, youll certainly be able to join in our favorite follow-up holiday discounted candy after Easter weekend.

Heres how to celebrate Easter in the Philadelphia region.

(Community / in-person) Grown-ups, the Easter bunny has something for you, too. This adults-only night out includes egg hunts, fun prizes, raffles, and more. Inside your eggs, youll find everything from gift cards to adult beverages. This party supports Angels Retreat, a Chester County dog rescue,($35, April 14, 5-8 p.m., 1805 Unionville Wawaset Rd., West Chester, eventbrite.com)

(Community / in-person / kid-friendly) Join the Easter Bunny and some of his bunny friends (like Peter Rabbit and Little Bunny Foo Foo) as they try to save Easter at this Adrienne Theater sing-along event. You and the family will bunny hop, sing, and dance to Rockin Robin and other songs to find all of this years missing Easter eggs. VIP tickets include pictures with the Easter Bunny. ($17-$35, April 14-15, 2030 Sansom St., eventbrite.com)

(Community / in-person / outdoors) Celebrate Easter with a walk through Longwoods beautiful gardens, now filled with the early blooms of spring. A string quartet plays in the Conservatory from 1 to 4 p.m. both days this weekend. Timed admission tickets are required for nonmembers. (April 16-17, 1001 Longwood Rd., Kennett Square, longwoodgardens.org)

(Community / in-person / kid-friendly) More than 50 boardwalk shops have joined together for a great egg hunt in Ocean City, N.J. Bring your own basket and pop into participating shops to hunt for eggs all while enjoying the ocean breeze. (April 16, 1-3 p.m., various locations along the Ocean City boardwalk, oceancityvacation.com)

(Community / in-person / kid-friendly / free) This free Easter party and egg hunt is designed for children on the autism spectrum. Kids build their own Easter baskets, hunt for eggs, and hang out with the AuSome Bunny. (Free, April 16, 12:30-3:30 p.m., 1140 S. 26th St., eventbrite.com)

(Community / in-person / kid-friendly) Spend Easter in Peddlers Village and enjoy egg hunts, the third-annual PEEPS show (Saturday only), and dining specials. Timed tickets ($10) are required to join in the egg hunt on Saturday. (April 16-17, 2400 Street Rd., New Hope, peddlersvillage.com)

(Community / in-person / kid-friendly / free) The South Street Headhouse Districts annual Easter celebration is back for its 89th year. Stop by for an egg hunt, food, games, and, of course, the annual parade and best-dressed competition (so wear your finest Easter attire). This year, the promenade goes down rain or shine. (Free, April 17, 12:30 p.m., Fifth and South Sts., southstreet.com)

(Community / in-person) This is not your typical Easter tea party. Grab your favorite Sunday brunch outfit and prepare for a day party with laid-back vibes, food and drink specials along with hip-hop and dancehall tunes. ($15-$22, April 17, 3-7 p.m., 1320 Chancellor St., eventbrite.com)

READ MORE: Live your best life in Philly: Read our most useful stories here

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The best Easter events in Philadelphia - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Picture this, Alice in Wonderland but instead of falling asleep in a meadow in the English countryside, she falls asleep at her creekside sandbox in Appalachia, near an old junkyard, and when she awakens its transformed into a fairytale place with details like giant letter blocks and multi-colored garland from childhood.

There will be tea, but this party is far from England.

This adaptation by the Guinn Twins Jake and Darby, of Havoc Movement Company, Atlanta, is appropriately and entertainingly adapted for todays audience while retaining the classic characters and literary nonsense of Lewis Carrolls 1865 Alices Adventures in Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland opened April 1 and will be staged through April 30 at the Mountainside Theatre in Cherokee.

The show, directed by Jason Paul Tate, is an all-ages comedy packed full of stage combat, stunts, acrobatics, aerial arts and of what could be a particular delight for young adults fire dancing. Furthering the local connection, Havoc Movement Company and the Cherokee Historical Association had Jonah Lossiah, with the Cherokee One Feather, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle as editors for the script.

We follow Alice down the rabbit hole, soon after the sharply dressed hare takes her attention (performed by Samantha Lancaster). We use our imaginations as she shrinks after the drink me bootleggers bottle and grows enormous after the eat this red cooler.

Then, soon after, shes lifted into the air as the sound of the stage filling with tears washes over us. She seems to be enjoying this adventure very much, with actor Bailey Frankenberg bringing her emotions to life. Frankenberg is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation with Choctaw descent. This is her second time on stage at Mountainside Theatre, having performed as Lucy in Dracula: The Failings of Men last October.

We soon meet the cards who do a fantastic job of 2-D movement then wash up on the beach where we meet the birds whose costumes include wings constructed of reused, everyday items like rakes and latex gloves.

Three of the actors in the small cast play multiple roles, with surprising originality for each one, and provide much of the humor. Actors are Barry Westmoreland, Jon Meyer and Lauren Longyear.

Perhaps the most stunning costume is in fact a puppet the wise caterpillar who perches above a brightly colored mushroom made of old tires.

This adaptation includes many of the quotes from the original book we know and love, while weaving in its own details.

Who are you? said the Caterpillar ... in this case inhaling on a corncob pipe. Alice replied, rather shyly, II hardly know, sir, just at present at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.

Alice gets a glimpse of her proud self when she delivers a beautiful version of Pretty Polly, an old English turned Appalachian murder ballad. Throughout the story, the music and sound enrich the story (Joz Vammer is the composer and sound designer).

This tale introduces the wampus cat in place of the Cheshire cat, who weaves his tail in a way that puts Alice and the audience in a trance (performed by Willie Frierson Jr.). Alice wonders, where should she go, to which the cat, you may recall says, That depends a good deal on where you want to get.

The wampus cat refers to a most feared animal of early pioneers in the area, the panther.

In the second act, Alice stumbles upon the Mad Tea Party. This segment provides much of the humor of the story, as the party wades through its niceties and rudeness, along with many riddles and limericks.

She then agrees to deliver a letter on the Hatters behalf to the Queen of Hearts herself. When she enters stage left, this queen has all the sass of Dolly Parton meets drag queen, with skin-tight red bodice and leggings, sparkling boots and a sky-high updo (performed by Kristen Noonan, who also directed last falls Dracula, plays as the mouse in this play and serves as aerial choreographer).

Before long, everyone on stage is at the mercy of this leaders whims, challenged to a game of marbles a real-life size game of the sport that ends with most of the characters knocked to the ground.

The art of movement continues to astound in the second half including aerial arts, fire dancing and stage combat.

It isnt until the final scene when the Queen conducts court over her stolen cookies that Alice seems to find herself, a brave and cunning young woman, who uncovers the madness of the queens court where Sentence first verdict afterwards is the order. It might be in this scene over all others the satire of Carrolls original tale carries through, and the audience probably cant help but apply it to modern times.

The conflict soon rises to the edge-of-your-seat action sequence as the queen takes chase against all at court Alice especially wielding an ax. The gasps from the crowd grow louder when we hear the clink of Alices sword against the ax.

Alice prevails and is soon called back by a faraway voice as she wakes up from her dream world adventure.

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'Alice in Wonderland' brings local flair to classic tale - The Sylva Herald

Former OhioTreasurer Josh Mandel is among the candidates running in the wide-open Republican race for Senate in Ohio.

The former U.S. Marine is making his third run for the seat. Like several of the candidates in the GOP contest, he is banking on winning the vote of former President Donald Trump's supporters by toutinghimself as the former presidents strongest advocate. He has loudly pronounced on the campaign trail the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

The northeast , Ohio, native, who scored the endorsement of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, takes on a field of candidates that includes businessman Mike Gibbons, ex-Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken, venture capitalist JDVance and others in the Republican primary on May 3.

Mandel has been a fixture in Ohio politics for years, but he hasn't held elected office since 2019. He already has run two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate, most recently withdrawing from the 2018 race.

Former Rep. Jim Renacci, now a Republican candidate for Ohio governor, ran in Mandel's place. He lost to incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.

Mandelfirst entered public officein 2003. He was elected to the Lyndhurst City Council before he was called up for deployment in Iraq, where he served two tours.

In 2006, a 29-year-old Mandel ascended tothe Ohio House, where he served until 2010. That is when he was elected state treasurer, a position he would keep until he launched hisfailed 2018 Senate bid.

But hisfirst and most successful runfor thenational seat came in2012, when he won the Republican nomination and lost in the general election to Brown.

Much has been written in the press over the years about Mandels political ambition. He had been state treasurer just over a year before he launched his first senate bid.

He held in his early daysa reputation as a moderate Republicanwho championed bi-partisanship,The New York Times reported. Buthe drifted further right with the emergence of the Tea Party movement and then the election of Trump.

In his time out of office, he served on several corporate boards and joined startups.

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Mandel was born on September 27,1977. He is 44 years old.

Mandel was raised in Beachwood, a majority Jewish community outside Cleveland. His dad, Bruce Mandel, is an attorney and active member of the local Jewish Federation. Mandel graduated in 1996 from Beachwood High School, where he played quarterback on the football team.

Mandels campaign lays out 10 issues, but front and center on the campaigns website are Pro-God, Pro-Gun, and Pro-Trump.

He joins the chorus of GOP midterm contenders parroting the Trump America First agenda, which takes a hardline approach to immigration and international trade policy.

But Mandel, more than other candidates, has made religiona central tenet of his campaign.

He said he does not believe in the separation of church and state and promised to protect the Judeo-Christian bedrock of America. Mandel has said on the campaign trail that no issue is more important than stopping abortion.

Part of his campaign promise echoes Trumps 2016 calls to drain the swamp. Mandel has decried establishment Republicans who he said he would take on as much as the radical left.

He recently said, for example, that Utah Sen. Mitt Romney should be eradicated from the Republican Party after he supported Bidens Supreme Court justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The senate hopeful has been a loud proponent of cryptocurrencies (as Ohio treasurer, he allowed taxpayers to pay their taxes in Bitcoin) and backed efforts to eliminate critical race theory from school curriculums.

A few GOP congress members have thrown their support behind Mandel, the most prominent endorsement coming from Cruz. North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Wyoming Sen.Cynthia Lummis are backing Mandel.

They join Trumps former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Colorado attorney Jenna Ellis, who led Trumps legal effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Mandel graduated with a bachelors degree in 2000 from Ohio State University, where he headed the student government. He received a law degree from Case Western Reserve University's School of Law in Clevelandin 2003.

Mandel has three children with his ex-wife Ilana Shafran. They divorced in 2020 after nearly 12 years of marriage. Shafran belongs to a prominent Ohio family that made their wealth in real estate. The political friction between Mandel and his former in-laws was well-publicized during his 2012 senate run. They penned a letter published in a local news outlet denouncing Mandel for his stance against same-sex marriage equality.

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Who is Josh Mandel? What to know about the ex-Ohio state treasurer in his third senate run - USA TODAY