The liberal candidate in Wisconsins hard-fought State Supreme Court race this month prevailed in voting by mail by a significant margin, upending years of study showing little advantage to either party when a state transitions from in-person to mail voting.

The gap suggests that Democrats were more organized and proactive in their vote-by-mail efforts in an election conducted under extraordinary circumstances, with voters forced to weigh the health risks of voting in person against the sometimes unreliable option of requesting and mailing in their ballots. Still, it is likely to add to the skepticism President Trump and Republicans have expressed about mail voting, which they worry would increase Democratic turnout at Republicans expense.

The liberal jurist, Jill Karofsky, performed 10 percentage points better than her conservative opponent in votes cast by mail than she did in votes cast at Election Day polling places, a gap that powered a surprising 11-point victory over all in a state both parties view as crucial to winning Novembers presidential election.

The voting data, collected by The New York Times from 27 Wisconsin municipalities that segregate ballots cast on Election Day from those sent by mail, shows that Judge Karofskys advantage in mail ballots over the conservative incumbent, Justice Daniel Kelly, was consistent across communities of varying size, geography and partisan lean. In a state with little history of voting by mail, more than 1.1 million of 1.55 million votes cast came by mail.

The Times analysis of Wisconsin records shows a staggering gap between in-person and mail voting in some communities. At a single precinct, Beloits 11th Ward, Justice Kelly won 64 percent of the Election Day vote while Judge Karofsky took 70 percent of votes cast by mail.

Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who is among the academics who have produced studies that found no partisan advantage to mail voting, said the Times analysis of the Wisconsin data did not align with any previous studies from states such as Colorado and Utah, which transitioned to fully vote-by-mail systems in recent years.

Im surprised by the results, Mr. Burden said when told of the gap between in-person and mail results. It is convincing and surprising that Karofsky appears to have done better among mail voters than in-person voters. Thats a change from past trends. Its unclear if thats going to be a permanent change or something very specific to this particular election.

Judge Karofsky performed better in the mail voting in every Wisconsin community in which results were made available to The Times. In Milwaukee, the states largest city, her performance among mail ballots was 5.8 points better than it was on Election Day, when voters waited in line for hours to vote at the five polling places that remained open.

Even in the Republican heartland of Waukesha County, Judge Karofsky performed far better among mail voters than she did on Election Day. In New Berlin, she won just 33 percent of votes at polling sites, but 43 percent in the mail, where four in five of the citys votes were cast. In the City of Pewaukee, she took 27 percent of the Election Day vote and 37 percent of the mail ballots.

The pattern helped Judge Karofsky carry swing communities that are crucial to winning statewide races in Wisconsin. In Neenah, in the Fox Valley south of Green Bay, Justice Kelly won the Election Day vote, 53 percent to 47 percent. But Judge Karofsky took 60 percent of the mail ballots. She won the citywide vote, 58 percent to 42 percent.

None of the academic studies cited as evidence that there was no partisan advantage to mail voting had been able to segregate mail voting results from in-person ones for a single election.

Such results are available from Wisconsins April 7 election because 32 of the states municipalities, including Milwaukee, count absentee ballots at a central location using separate tabulating equipment. The states other 1,800 cities, villages and towns do not segregate absentee ballots from those cast on Election Day when counting them, according to Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Robert Stein, a political scientist at Rice University who has helped put in place vote-by-mail systems across the country, said the Wisconsin results showed the ability of Democrats there to build a statewide vote-by-mail system essentially from scratch just weeks before the election.

You probably had much more core frequent and Democratic voters voting by mail and late-deciding voters waiting to vote at the polls, he said. The Democrats proved they can mobilize their voters to vote by mail.

The gap in mail voting may have been influenced by the diverging concerns about the coronavirus pandemic among Wisconsins Democrats and Republicans. A Marquette Law School poll released six days before the election found 87 percent of Democrats were very concerned about the coronavirus, compared with just 56 percent of Republicans.

Amelia Showalter, the data analytics director for Barack Obamas 2012 campaign, said the Wisconsin results might change the perception of mail voting.

The people who used it were older voters who voted more Republican, Ms. Showalter said. As you get more widespread adoption, you get into more of those low-propensity voters. It might advantage Democrats.

Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, attributed Judge Karofskys success in mail voting to the partys mid-March decision to focus entirely on educating Democrats about how to request and complete a mail ballot.

The Democratic Party decided weeks out from the election to switch 100 percent of its efforts to vote-by-mail in the first time in its history, Mr. Wikler said. I think Republicans bought some of their own disinformation.

Wisconsin Republicans acknowledged that the states Democrats became far more invested in encouraging their voters to request and return absentee ballots before this months election.

They were invested in doing this starting as early as the first week in March, said Robin Vos, the Republican speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly who, on Election Day, was photographed in full personal protective equipment during his stint as a poll monitor in his hometown, Burlington. I would say that, stereotyping, Republicans like to go vote on Election Day.

Mr. Vos said the Wisconsin election was evidence that no changes in the states voting laws and procedures are necessary before the November general election, when twice as many people are expected to vote. Democratic requests to mail ballots to all registered voters and to remove requirements that voters upload a photo identification to request an absentee ballot and obtain a witness signature before returning ballots are out of the question, Mr. Vos said.

The only reason they would want to expand voting would be to create an opportunity for potential fraud or because they want to give themselves some kind of partisan advantage, Mr. Vos said. The current situation is pretty fair to everybody.

Mr. Vos and other senior Wisconsin Republicans rejected the idea that Mr. Trumps repeated dismissal of mail voting depressed conservative voters interest in voting absentee.

The daily hubbub in Washington, that stuff doesnt necessarily break through with our voters, said Brian Reisinger, who served as a senior aide to former Gov. Scott Walker and Senator Ron Johnson.

Yet there was some acknowledgment that the G.O.P.s political apparatus in Wisconsin, which built a powerful get-out-the-vote machine that elected Mr. Walker three times and gave Mr. Trump a shocking 2016 victory, was slow to adapt to a rapidly changing public health situation.

The right is more rigid, said Matt Batzel, the Cedar Grove, Wis.-based national executive director of American Majority Action, a conservative grass-roots training organization. People on the right need to use the rules of the game and use all the voting opportunities that are available.

See the rest here:

Vote by Mail in Wisconsin Helped a Liberal Candidate, Upending Old Theories - The New York Times

Several liberal groups, including Media Matters, have filed for small-business loans during the coronavirus pandemic from the Trump administration.

Media Matters, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, and other liberal groups have filed to receive funds from the small-business relief program, which was replenished with $484 billion, according to Fox News.

Its hard for me to imagine that any of these liberal groups are going to pull their punches on criticizing government because they got a loan, Gara LaMarche, the president of liberal donor group Democracy Alliance, told the New York Times.

Up to 14 state affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union also applied for loans (one of them receiving $154,000), and the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center applied for a loan of $160,000.

Conservative nonprofit groups are also seeking loans.

I would love someone to give us free cash, said Adam Brandon, the president of FreedomWorks.

President Trump signed a $484 billion coronavirus relief package into law on Friday, which included $370 billion in aid for small businesses, $75 billion for hospitals that are having trouble covering costs, and $25 billion for virus testing.

See the original post:

Media Matters and other liberal groups file for coronavirus small-business relief loans from Trump administration - Washington Examiner

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

New organizations were quick to frame President Trumps recent remarks about injecting disinfectant into coronavirus patients as a serious suggestion about a potential course of treatment. The misleading media coverage has already prompted the first call to remove Mr. Trump from office in its aftermath.

MoveOn, the 7-million member progressive activist organization, has issued an aggressive demand to remove the president, citing the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Trumps comments about injecting disinfectant arent even the only incoherent, incompetent, or dangerous thing hes said this week. More to the point, its not just Trumps words but his actions that reveal his utter inability to discharge the duties of his office, said executive director Rahna Epting in a statement which offered a laundry list of accusations against the president.

Among other things, Ms. Epting claimed Mr. Trump downplayed the threat of the virus for months, went golfing instead of preparing for the pandemic, failed to provide testing or protective gear for sick people , and has not gotten relief to families in need. Many of these points have also been reflected in recent press coverage of Mr. Trump.

He reportedly doesnt attend coronavirus briefings, but rather governs by watching TV. His egotism, intentional ignorance, and lack of rudimentary understanding of or respect for the Constitution are clear evidence of his inability to govern. If it wasnt already abundantly clear it should be now: its past time for the Cabinet to exercise its constitutional responsibility and remove Trump from office, Ms. Epting said.

MSNBC analyst Mike Barnicle, in fact, has also called for Mr. Trumps removal based on the remarks.

Both based their rationale for their move on Section 4 of the 25th Amendment which reads as follows:

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Read more from the original source:

Liberal group MoveOn demands Trump be removed from office because of Lysol remark - Washington Times

Liberal journalists routinely describe Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler as a former coal lobbyist and climate change denier, suggesting that he is destroying the EPA from within and in cahoots with big business. But this narrative is essentially wrong and misleading on all counts.

I interviewed Wheeler recently to discuss how his agency was marking the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and his tenure more broadly. I encountered a very different man than the one youd read about in the New York Times.

When Earth Day began in 1970, Americans faced a drastically different environment than we do today, Wheeler said. I am proud of the work our nation has done, and continues to do, to be a leader in clean air and clean water progress.

Our conversation led me to ask the administrator about the most common criticisms leveled against him.

He explained that perhaps the most frustrating one is the way liberal media outlets always introduce him as a former coal lobbyist. This is an example of something that is technically true but extremely misleading.

Wheeler was, for just over eight years, an energy lobbyist. Among his many clients were nuclear power companies and, yes, coal companies and workers. But the decision made by liberal journalists to only highlight coal in their descriptor is undoubtedly an intentional and political one.

So, too, when former coal lobbyist is used as the only descriptor to introduce the administrator, this ignores Wheelers arguably much more relevant stint at the EPA early in his career and several decades of work in Congress on environmental issues. Lobbying was one job he held for a small part of his long career in environmental policy. (For what it's worth, Wheeler's qualifications are rather impressive: He holds not just a bachelor's degree in science but also a law degree and an MBA).

Something tells me that a similar EPA head appointed by a Democrat, who had once worked as an energy lobbyist with solar as a client, would instead be described by the liberal media as a career public servant and veteran legislative expert.

We also discussed Wheelers alleged climate change denial, which is simply not a thing. He does believe man-made climate change is real, he does want to reduce carbon emissions, and he strongly supports nuclear power the most efficient, emissions-free power source available and one that, bizarrely, many Democrats oppose despite claiming to believe in global warming.

Wheeler did stress that he doesnt believe climate change is the existential threat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez makes it out to be when she says were all going to die in 12 years or, at least, if we don't destroy our economy in the next 10 years.

The administrator also explained that, for him, the most important environmental issue right now is clean water, not climate change. On a global basis, nearly 1 million people still die every year from the lack of access to safe drinking water. (And Flint, Michigan, shows this isnt just an international issue, but still one here as well).

Wheeler was not denying climate change, of course, but it is not his top priority. If liberal journalists want to argue that Wheeler doesnt take climate change seriously enough, isnt adequately focusing on it, or doesnt support the appropriate climate change policies, this might provide the occasion to do so. It's at least a fair question to debate. But it's simply a lie to label Wheeler a climate change denier. This is an example of how the charge becomes a bad-faith smear upon anyone who isnt googly eyed at the "Green New Deal."

Examples of this bad-faith coverage of Wheeler and his EPA abound in the policy arena as well.

Take, for example, the administration's Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science. Its a complicated rule, but essentially, it would require that the EPA only use studies in their policymaking for which the data is made publicly available and transparent not secret. As for the chorus of privacy and methodological concerns raised, Wheeler said researchers can adjust the way they do studies, and data can be anonymized. He also pointed out that the rule allows EPA to make exceptions when necessary.

Our regulations will be better understood on both sides, Wheeler told me. I really see it as an open government proposal getting data out there for people to look at.

This eminently reasonable suggestion that the federal government does not blindly make rules based on secret data has been met with a shriek from the liberal media, which has implicitly and explicitly deemed it an assault on science. Wheeler complained that critics are misleadingly calling it the secret science rule when, if anything, its really the opposite. The agency is still taking comments and working on the final draft of the rule, but most of the engagement has been made in bad faith.

"When finalized, the science transparency rule will ensure that all important studies underlying significant regulatory actions at the EPA, regardless of their source, are available for a transparent review by qualified scientists," Wheeler said.

And while Wheelers EPA has indeed played a role in the Trump administrations broader pro-growth deregulatory agenda, the administrator also stressed to me the key pro-environment work theyve done.

For instance, he pointed out that, last year, they cleaned up more contaminated Superfund sites than in any year since 2001. He touted the work theyve done pairing the GOP tax bills economic opportunity zones with EPA-sponsored Brownfield grants to promote environmental cleanup. (For some completely unknown reason, these accomplishments made it into almost none of the news reports I reviewed while preparing for our interview.)

In our interview, Wheeler certainly didnt come across as the anti-government fanatic that the liberal media makes him out to be. While dedicated to promoting efficiency in the EPA and open to downsizing it, the administrator actually cited as his biggest concern the agencys inability to retain employees for more than a few years. (This is due in part, he said, to millennials flighty job habits.) Thats not exactly a telling sign of someone hell-bent on abolishing the EPA from within.

This disconnect between liberal media coverage and reality spreads throughout Wheelers tenure at EPA. It surely cant be good for democracy to have so many people relying on a deeply distorted portrayal of their government for basic information.

See the original post:

Liberal media gives Trump EPA head Andrew Wheeler a bad rap - Washington Examiner

The Liberal governmentreached a tentative agreementwith the NDP and the Bloc Qubcois about the conditions under which Parliament could reconvene this week but the Conservatives' rejection of thatdeal could lead to MPsreturning to the Commons on Monday.

"One sitting each week is unacceptable, even if it is eventually supplemented by a virtual sitting for a handful of additional MPs," Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said during a news conference on Sunday. "Physical distancing means staying two metres apart, not staying away from Parliament."

The Official Opposition's insistence on meeting in the House of Commons three times a weekmeans negotiations between federal parties remain up in the air on the eve ofApril 20 thedateMPs were intendedto reconvene when Parliament adjourned five weeks ago.

The Liberal Party told its staff Sunday that if no deal is reached between all four parties before late Monday morning, the party will attend theHouse sittingin reduced numbersand with minimal staff present.

That scenario would see the NDP and the Bloc each sending three MPs to the House. B.C. MP Paul Manly would attend on behalf of the Greens.

Scheer said the Conservatives are sending the same number of MPs as the last emergency sitting. The Liberals told CBC News they would do the same.

Scheer is scheduled to speak about Parliament's returnat 10:15 a.m. ET on Monday.

Earlier Sunday, Liberal House Leader Pablo Rodriguez shared on Twitter details of theagreement struck with the NDP and the Bloc, which includes a combination of in-person and virtual sittings each week.

"Under the agreement, the House of Commons will hold one day of in-person meetings per week, with a small group of MPsin the chamber. As well, there will be additional virtual sessions with a small number of MPs from across the country," the statement reads.

Rodriguez said the proposal will give MPs the same amount of time toquestion ministers and the prime minister as they would normally have under regular parliamentary circumstances.

During his Sunday COVID-19 briefing earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticizedthe Conservatives for their repeated calls to convene in the Commons' chamber.

"I'm looking forward to taking questions from opposition parties, but it has to be done in a responsible way and right now, the Conservatives are not taking a responsible approach," Trudeau said.

Late Saturday, CBC News learned that the Trudeau government had offered to compress five days of question period into two days a week.

The arrangement would have involvedvirtual sittings every Tuesday, with MPs across the country taking part in the equivalent of two question periods. On Wednesdays, a smaller number of MPs and the prime minister would sit in the House of Commons and face the equivalent of three question periods.

In contrast, the tentative deal between the Liberals, NDP and Blocstarts with a proposal for asingle in-person sitting beginning this Wednesday.

By next week, one session would be held virtually on Tuesday, followed by a sitting in the chamber on Wednesday.

The following week and all subsequent weeks would see MPs meeting virtually on Tuesdays and Thursdays and in-person on Wednesdays, for a total of three sessions per week.

The arrangement is similar to the NDP's initial recommendation, which called for the House to meet in-person once a week on top of two virtual sessions that would involve hearing from a larger contingent of MPs.

"I think the reality is the more we are meeting in person, the more that increasesthe risk. That's why the NDP proposal, I think, makes a lot of sense," said NDP House Leader Peter Julian.

Trudeau said during his morning remarksthat convening all 338 MPsand their staff in the House of Commons would amount to an "irresponsible" move due to public health guidance urging Canadians to practisephysical distancing.

Scheer fired back at the prime minister for suggesting that any parties were advocating for afull roster of MPs to return to the Commons on Monday.

"That is completely false, and it's disingenuous to try to put that forward before Canadians as if that was a real scenario," Scheer said.

The outgoing leader also said that his proposal which includes two hours per session to question ministers is in line with theprotocols legislators followed during the government's last two emergency sittings.

"Thirty-twoMPs attended representing all parties," Scheer said. "This allowed us to follow public health advice and still carry out our duties."

While the Green Party of Canada does not hold recognized party status, former leader Elizabeth May saidshesupports sitting in the Commons only if there is a compelling reason to do so, such as passing legislation.

Commenting on Scheer's insistence thatvirtual sittings do not allow for proper parliamentary scrutiny and oversight, May said she believes remote platforms do just fine when it comes to holding politicians to account.

"We've already seen standing committees meet by Zoom," May said in an interview with CBC News. "I've seen [Conservative MP] Pierre Poilievre go at Bill Morneau. It wasn't any different in quality than question period. His opportunities were exactly the same."

The rest is here:

Conservatives reject Liberals' tentative agreement with NDP, Bloc on Parliament's return - CBC.ca

THE Houston Police Officer's Union has released a statement slamming "draconian measures" by a Harris County judge ordering the mandatory wearing of face masks.

Judge Lina Hidalgo said yesterday residents of 10 or older need to be covering their nose and mouth while out in public, with the possibility of a $1,000 fine for anyone not complying.

But the police union today released a statement slamming the measures.

HPOU FOP Lodge President Joe Gamaldi wrote: "[We] believe everyone should be wearing a mask in public...However we draw the line at the draconian measures Hidalgo has decided to engage in."

"The statement continues: "Our officers work every day to bridge the gap with our community and earn their trust, we will not stand idly by and allow that bridge to be torn down."

The union also blasted the judge's leadership as "horrific" and accused her of making "echo chamber" policies, calling the mask order "idiotic".

The HPOU has reached out to the Attorney General's Office to check the legality of the enforcement too, the statement says.

It adds: "The last thing any of us need to do is kick our community while they are down."

The union also argues their police force are "stretched too thin" as is, and don't have the means to enforce the punishment aspects of the order.

And Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, warned that Hidalgos order could lead to unjust tyranny," the Texas Tribune reports.

Crenshaw Tweeted: Should guidelines for masks in confined spaces be emphatically promoted? Absolutely."

But we will NEVER support 180 days in jail or $1,000 fine for not wearing a mask.

In their statement, the HPOU urged officers to use discretion when enforcing the rules, although the Houston Chronicle reports Hidalgo has recommended this too.

And Galveston County Judge Mark Henry called the requirement unconstitutional. While we encourage that you consider these recommendations for your own safety and the safety of others around you, I will not be mandating it because I believe it is unconstitutional to do so."

Asked about the pushback, Hidalgo said: There's always going to be a minority voice. People are entitled to their opinions.

The uproar comes amid anti-lockdown protests sweeping the nation.

Protesters havecalled the lockdowns "tyrannical" and have demanded businesses reopen but many governors have stated they will not ease restrictions while the pandemic continues to sicken people.

Thousands of people have protested the shutdowns in recent weeks, many dismissing the shutdown as an infringement of their constitutional rights.

Many argue that if healthy people are not able to work then the economy is at risk of collapsing.

Protesters argue that they should not be forced to stay home and close their businesses, despite orders from state legislatures.

Healthcare workers across the country havestood in front of protesters, making their own statements to encourage people to stay homeamid thecoronavirus pandemic.

The organization ReOpen Virginia said in a news release: "Government mandating sick people to stay home is called quarantine. However, the government mandating healthy citizens to stay home, forcing businesses and churches to close is called tyranny.

HOT TUB FLYING MACHINEInside Boeing 727 plane converted into 3-bedroom home with hot tub

FINAL FLIGHTHusband of 'Tiger King' star Carole Baskin 'was strangled & tossed from plane'

NO HONOR AMONG THIEVESChina 'trying to steal US research' on coronavirus that it unleashed

Exclusive

DEAD ISLAND10,000 unclaimed bodies will be buried this year on New York's 'Isle of Dead'

GRAND SLAMMERTopless woman trashes Denny's restaurant in California after rampage

ISLAND HORRORBodies of two transgender women found burned to death in a car in Puerto Rico

Many protesters have been outspoken about the economic impacts of the shutdown, noting that Americans are losing jobs increasingly as businesses have been forced to close.

Last week alone, 5.2 million Americans filed for unemployment.

At the beginning of this month it was recommeneded by the government Americans wear face coverings while out in public - but they discouraged the use of medical or N95 masks, as those are required by healthcare workers.

Do you have a story for The U.S. Sun team?

Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212-416-4552.

Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheSunUS and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunUS.

See the original post here:

Texas cops blast liberal judges draconian mask order and suggest they wont enforce it - The Sun

A progressive pro-Palestinian student group at George Washington University is miffed that its politically kindred-spirit organizations are awash in Caucasians.

Students Against Imperialism issued a statement on Thursday complaining about this fact, and demanded other GWU groups remedy [it] immediately.

The groups letter begins by noting leftist students of color feel consistently excluded from organizing spaces and actions which leads to exclusionary [] white social spaces.

Right-wing and liberal student groups push agendas that inherently muffle the voices of people of color and perpetuate racism through their implicit support of capitalism and imperialism, the statement continues. Black and brown bodies are not buzzwords to be thrown around. We are people, not props.

It goes on to complain that white-centered activism, such as that regarding climate change, ignores the injustices of the US military, aka the worlds largest polluter. In addition, those pertaining to Israels occupation of Palestinian land also are overlooked, SAI claims, and this apartheid situation is non-negotiable.

Zionism is racism, point-blank, period. the group says.

SAI lists three demands:

Five specific progressive student organizations, such as the Progressive Students Union, must respond with a statement indicating how they will address the issues raised.

All (liberal) groups must work together to ensure that marginalized students feel comfortable in airing their beefs.

Students of color must be prioritized by being placed in leadership roles and made more visible on projects. White students must help distribute the workload in an equitable manner.

Unsurprisingly, the statements concluding paragraph is a hodgepodge of studies jargon: [W]e cannot hope to confront and deconstruct other forms of unjustly hierarchical social relations

GWU Student Association President Howard Brookins III endorsed SAIs statement on his Facebook page, writing GW has a passionate and active community of leftists that is too often dominated by white students [] I stand with the students and their demands made by the GW Left Coalition and call on the GW community to do better.

The Young Americas Foundations Kara Zupkus reacted thusly:

Aside from being absolutely laughable, this demand letter is exactly what GW leftists deserve. Every year, left-leaning student organizations race to see who can become the most radical, far-left caricatures of leftism. Theyve set themselves up for a woke Olympics, and now they must reap what they have sowed.

An otherwise supportive GWU student asked on Facebook: You [SAI] made extremely broad assertions of widespread racism and oppression at GW without showing any proof of it, which given these claims there must be a lot of. Could you please provide some of your evidence of what is occurring within the organizations you named?

Read the full SAI statement and Zupkus article.

MORE: Progressive students once again win vast majority of Truman Scholarships

MORE: Syracuse University: When grievance-laden progressives taste power

IMAGE: Shutterstock.com

Read More

Like The College Fix on Facebook / Follow us on Twitter

Visit link:

Liberal GWU student group blasts other liberal student groups as 'too white' - The College Fix

ANNOUNCER: Malcolm Turnbull from Wentworth.

REPORTER: Brendan Nelson's leadership was on borrowed time.

ALEX SOMLYAY: I'd like to announce that Malcolm Turnbull has been elected as the leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party.

REPORTER: It was hardly a decisive victory but more than enough for the man who'd coveted the job for the best part of a year.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: I will not lead a party that is not as committed to effective action on climate change as I am.

CHRIS UHLMANN, REPORTER: The leadership threat comes from inside his own tent and some Liberals seem determined to destroy the leader.

KERRY O'BRIEN: If Tony Abbott becomes leader on Monday, he will be your third new leader in two years. That is not a good look, is it?

NICK MINCHIN: I think it is unhealthy for parties to keep changing leaders all the time.

TONY ABBOTT: Very impressive.

REPORTER: Tony Abbott seemed as shock as any one at the outcome of the Liberals leadership vote

TONY ABBOTT: I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Australia is under new management and Australia is once more open for business.

(Cheering)

SABRA LANE: While the Prime Minister survived the spill motion, it was effectively a vote of no confidence in him.

TONY ABBOTT: Good government starts today.

REPORTER: Malcolm Turnbull delivered a bombshell eight months in the making.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: We have lost 30 Newspolls in a row. It is clear that the people have made up their mind about Mr Abbott's leadership.

TONY ABBOTT: We are not the Labor Party.

SCOTT BUCHHOLZ: Malcolm Turnbull was successful on 54, Tony Abbott, 44.

REPORTER: His second rising as Liberal leader comes almost 7 years to the day from his first.

TONY ABBOTT: There will be no wrecking, no undermining and no sniping.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Hi there, I'm Malcolm.

ANDREW PROBYN: Mr Turnbull's initial stratospheric ratings reflected his broad appeal but compromises on climate change and same-sex marriage shattered his mystique.

POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think he has had difficulty conveying a clear message for what he stands for.

PETER DUTTON: I would challenge for the leadership of the parliamentary Liberal Party.

LEIGH SALES: Three years after Malcolm Turnbull rolled Tony Abbott, Peter Dutton is trying to oust Malcolm Turnbull.

MATHIAS CORMANN: We advised the prime minister of our judgement that he no longer enjoyed majority support in the party room.

SCOTT MORRISON: This is my leader and I'm ambitious for him.

NOLA MARINO: The successful candidate was Scott Morrison. He won this vote by 45 votes to 40 for Peter Dutton.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Australians will be just dumb struck and so appalled.

LEIGH SALES: Malcolm Turnbull. welcome back to the program.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Great to be with you.

LEIGH SALES: You handed over the final part of your book to your publisher a couple of months ago.

Could you possibly have imagined how much the world would have changed in the period of time before it came out?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: No, no, it seems like a completely different world but it's important for us, for life to go on.

It is important for us to keep reading. It's an Australian book with an Australian publisher, an Australian printer and Australian book sellers who all need things to sell.

So we decided to press on and stick to the date we'd set last year.

LEIGH SALES: What are your observations as you look at what is going on in the world at the moment?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: This virus defies our very humanity. This is biology confounding politics just like climate change is physics confounding politics.

Here in Australia, so far, the response has been effective and we are seeing the curve flattening.

So I think all the governments in Australia can take some satisfaction, no cause for complacency, of course, but some satisfaction that so far the measures are working but the economic shock will be massive.

LEIGH SALES: Let's go back to a time before we were all living in this new normal when politics was politics and that was the final week of your prime ministership.

You, yourself, had set the bar of losing 30 Newspolls in a row as justification for the removal of a leader?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: That is not quite true with great respect. I wish I'd never said that but the critique I made of the Abbott government was that essentially that it was a bad government and I cited as evidence that its political cause was lost really as a means of persuading my colleagues that we had lost 30 Newspolls in a row.

But yes, I certainly mentioned it but that wasn't the reason I challenged Tony Abbott, not at all.

LEIGH SALES: None the less, you did by citing that then give you colleagues a excuse later to say well, you live by the sword, you die by the sword?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Certainly they were able to use that but the reality is that when the coup occurred, when Dutton and the right-wing group that supported him, Abbott and others and their friends in the Murdoch media and the right-wing media generally, they overthrew my government and overthrew my prime ministership not because they thought I'd lose an election but because they thought I would win it.

LEIGH SALES: Why do you think they didn't want you to win an election when you were leading their side?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: This is what's happened to the Liberal Party. It has become so tribalised.

There are some very key observations of George Brandis in the book which I think are among the most insightful about the way in which the right-wing have basically taken the Liberal, the liberalism out of the Liberal Party and they would have preferred Abbott and his friends and the Murdoch media, the right-wing shock jocks, they would have preferred Bill Shorten to be prime minister than me.

Link:

Malcolm Turnbull on how the Liberal Party operates behind closed doors - 7.30 - ABC News

Pike Liberal Arts senior Davis Allens athletic career with the Patriots was highlighted by two state championships in baseball.

The senior is now saying goodbye to the Patriots after being very active on the playing field and in the classroom.

Its been really fun, especially with the two state championships, Allen said. That was extremely fun. Im going to have lifelong friends from Pike and Im going to remember a lot.

Allen and the rest of the class 2020 wont have the excitement of finishing out their high school career in the halls of Pike Liberal Arts. Allen wont have the opportunity to do the things that previous seniors had the opportunity to do.

Its been difficult not being with my friends, Allen said. Im not certain if we are going to have an on-time graduation or other senior activities.

Along with playing for the Patriot baseball team, Allen also played football for head coach Gene Allen. Off the field, Allen was just as busy. He was the SGA Treasurer the past two years and was in many different clubs throughout his high school career.

Its good to be in different groups and organizations, Allen said. You have different friends outside of sports.

On the field Allen excelled in both baseball and football. Before his baseball season was cut short, Allen played in 15 games for the Patriots in 2020. He had 57 plate appearances and 48 official at-bats. He had a .417 batting average with an on base percentage of .509. He had one home run and nine RBI. As a junior, Allen earned First Team All-State honors.

Allen played football all four years of high school The Patriots best season during Allens high school career came in 2018 when they finished they finished the regular season 10-1.

It was extremely fun, Allen said. I have been extremely blessed to play on such great teams.

Allen and the Patriots baseball team are back-to-back state champions and looked like they had a chance to return to Montgomery in 2020. The success of the program doesnt come to a surprise to Allen.

I have played baseball with the guys in my grade for a long time, Allen said. We have been pretty good throughout the years. We kind of expected to win, so we worked hard and accomplished our goals.

On the football field in 2020, Allen took more of a leadership role after the Patriots said goodbye to key seniors including Jade Sikes, Cody Hollis and Max Copeland. It was a role he carried into baseball season.

Becoming a senior, I felt like I needed to become more vocal, Allen said. It something that I worked on.

Allen will always be thankful for the impact that both Gene Allen and Allen Ponder made in his career.

I will always remember them helping me, Allen said. They were really great.

Allen is now looking ahead to college. He hopes to continue playing baseball at the collegiate level.

I am going to play baseball at the next level, Allen said. The recruiting has been put on pause because of what has been happening. I have a couple opportunities and I havent really decided yet.

Read the rest here:

Allen stayed busy on and off the field at Pike Liberal Arts - The Troy Messenger - Troy Messenger