Monthly Archives: April 2017

TOLEDO, Ohio Sherrod Brown sat down to talk trade at a union hall this week, in the city that makes the Jeep he drives, wearing a suit stitched 10 miles from his Cleveland house, and looked right at home.

But one reminder of the pressure he faces stood right outside the door: a tracker from the conservative PAC America Rising, who follows the Ohio Democrat every place I go as he runs for a third Senate term in what may be one of the most competitive 2018 contests. Another reminder of his challenge came in remarks by the union official introducing him to a dozen or so United Auto Workers members.

Story Continued Below

When I think of the name Sherrod Brown, I think about fair trade. And its nice to finally have a president whos saying the same thing, Bruce Baumhower said, in a nod to the pitch that won Donald Trump Ohio by 8 percentage points en route to the White House.

Whether he does the same thing," Baumhower added, "well find out."

Brown is also waiting to see if Trump will make good on campaign promises to toughen up trade enforcement and renegotiate NAFTA. Ohios only statewide elected Democrat who boasts his own penchant for populism, Brown will have to capture some Trump voters if he wants to win reelection. His easiest path to victory may be working with the president on trade as well as infrastructure, two issues where at least rhetorically they align.

To that end, Brown is building relationships with a Trump administration that most fellow Democrats have turned on, and with the kind of steps a restive liberal base might view as treachery by another member of their party.

Just eight days after Hillary Clintons loss sent Democrats into a tailspin, Brown wrote to Trump offering to partner on trade and got one of the presidents famous hand-written replies scrawled at the top.

During a two-month stretch when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had no personal contact with Trump, Brown talked to the president in a bid to stop the closure of a 3M plant that put 150 Ohio jobs at risk.

Brown also talked infrastructure with top White House economic adviser Gary Cohn this month and joined Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) in introducing Trump nominee Robert Lighthizer at his confirmation hearing to become U.S. trade representative. Brown calls Lighthizer, who shares the same Ohio hometown as Browns wife, maybe the best pick in the whole administration.

That doesnt mean Brown is turning into a Trump cheerleader. The 64-year-old liberal stalwart also reminded the autoworkers that many other Trump nominees want to overturn Obama-era policies designed to protect their lives and livelihoods.

The people hes appointing to the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet are people whose lifes goal is what they call a deregulatory, pro-growth agenda, Brown told the union members. But it really is a rollback of protections for workers.

Its a fine line to walk, staying open to dealing with Trump on some fronts while sharply opposing the White House agenda on most others. But Brown sees his task simply: keep pushing for the same beliefs hes had since his first election to the House in 1992.

Ill work with him when hes right for Ohio, and Ill oppose him when hes wrong for Ohio, Brown told POLITICO after his union meeting. Its pretty clear what I think on these issues.

Brown's alignment with a few of Trumps goals marks a stark contrast from the last time he faced voters with an unpopular Republican president in office. Brown strenuously opposed President George W. Bushs agenda on his way to toppling then-Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) in 2006, the year that Schumer helped take back the Senate as the Democrats campaign chief.

The Bush years remain a source of encouragement for Brown. Asked how he can stay motivated given the yawning gap between his goals and the White Houses, Brown recalled Democrats' victory in halting Bush's bid to privatize Social Security as well as the escalating public opposition to the Iraq War.

Meanwhile, his resolute liberalism in a swing state, epitomized by the canary lapel pin he wears to represent government support for coal miners and other workers, has helped Brown reach across the aisle while staying a darling of the left.

For example, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren took so much flak from progressives for backing Ben Carson's bid for secretary of housing and urban development that she switched her vote, Brown stayed in the yes camp for Carson. He's supported nine other top Trump nominees this year more than double the number of yes votes cast by other Senate Democratic stars such as Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker.

Brown said he hasnt faced significant blowback from the left for diverging from party orthodoxy at times.

I got some people mad at me because I voted for Carson, Brown said. But I voted for Carson because Carson knows one thing about housing and that is, theres too much lead in too many homes and it affects kids brain development.

Sen. Sherrod Brown is building relationships with a Trump administration that most fellow Democrats have turned on. | AP Photo

Brown is expected to face Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel next year, a rematch of their 2012 contest that Brown won by 6 percentage points. As Mandel racks up support from conservative groups, making a competitive primary less likely, the 39-year-old Republican's campaign is already hitting Brown hard for being too liberal for a state where Trump won 80 of 88 counties in November.

It took Sherrod Brown all of 11 minutes to come out against [Supreme Court Justice] Neil Gorsuch and he votes in lockstep with Elizabeth Warren 97% of the time, Axiom Strategies vice president Ethan Zorfas, whose firm is advising Mandels campaign, wrote in an email.

"Brown led the charge to elect Hillary Clinton in Ohio and called Trumps movement a counterfeit campaign," added Zorfas, who also works under former Ted Cruzs presidential strategist Jeff Roe. "As Senator Brown moves into desperation mode, he will go back into the old Washington playbook of saying anything to get reelected."

Trump won an estimated one-third of the votes of UAW members, at least partly on the strength of his vow to reopen NAFTA and negotiate a better deal for manufacturers in the industrial Midwest that have hemorrhaged jobs in recent years. Winning a third term will require Brown to remind those same working-class voters many of whom shunned Clinton about all he's done for them. His warm welcome at the union hall this week suggests he has a real opening.

"Im not arguing that Trump didnt get a lot of working-class voters that Im going to get in '18, or got in '12, or maybe a few Obama got," Brown said. "But I think its overstated, particularly from industrial unions, how Trump did."

Brown, whose campaign recently announced a $2.4 million first quarter fundraising haul, is likely to get significant help from the labor movement he's championed throughout his career. (Mandel's campaign has yet to release its fundraising figures.)

Get breaking news when it happens in your inbox.

By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sherrod Brown has always put the economic well-being of Ohio first, Tim Burga, president of the state's AFL-CIO chapter, said through a spokesman. He has worked on these issues for decades, no matter which party was in control of the White House, because he puts what is right for Ohio jobs ahead of party politics.

Winning next year also may require Brown to play up his ability to work with Trump and Senate Republicans, providing an incentive for him to keep the door open to bipartisan cooperation on trade and infrastructure.

But as he prepared to shift from the union hall to a meeting with anti-hunger advocates, Brown may have unintentionally revealed how hard it will be to find common ground with Trump.

"I hold hope that on some things, like infrastructure, maybe hell do it right," Brown said, before admitting that so far, "Theres no sign of doing it right on infrastructure."

Trump's campaign-trail plan for infrastructure was crafted by two of the administration officials Brown has praised: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. But Democrats, including Brown, have uniformly panned the plan because it aims to spur investment through tax credits, as opposed to providing direct spending.

"Theyre talking about Wall Street kinds of financing," Brown told reporters. "Is it just giving incentives for things like pipelines or the electric grid that private-sector companies are going to build anyway?"

Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning in your inbox.

Go here to read the rest:

Meet the liberal hero who hasn't given up on Trump - POLITICO - Politico

Bryan Logan

Apr 15th 2017 12:58PM

News of the Trump administration's move to keep White House visitor logs secret has prompted criticism from conservative and liberal groups. The administration cited "grave national-security risks and privacy concerns" on Friday as reasons to keep the logs under wraps.

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative-leaning watchdog Judicial Watch, said the organization was "disappointed" with the White House's decision. "Unfortunately, this move is perfectly in line with the policy of the Obama White House to prevent these visitors logs from being processed and released under the Freedom of Information Act," Fitton's statement read.

"This new secrecy policy undermines the rule of law and suggests this White House doesn't want to be accountable to the American people," Fitton said.

The liberal-leaning American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in its own statement: "Elected officials work for the people and we deserve to see government business conducted in transparent daylight."

33 PHOTOS

Inside President Trump's first 70 days

See Gallery

Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States on January 20, 2017, outlining his "America first" vision in his inaugural address.

Four million people around the world, including 500,000 in Washington, DC, attend the Women's March on January 21, 2017.

Kellyanne Conway coins the term "alternative facts" after the administration made false claims about the number of people who attended Trump's inauguration.

Trump signs an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral trade agreement.

(Photo by Ron Sachs/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Trump orders the government to begin construction of the US-Mexico border wall and pulls federal funds from sanctuary cities.

Trump signs his first immigration executive order, sparking nationwide protests.

Trump nominates 10th Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Republican donor Betsy DeVos is confirmed as education secretary with a historic tie-breaking vote cast by Mike Pence one of the most contentious confirmations ever.

Michael Flynn resigns as National Security Adviser amid uproar over his communications with Russian officials.

Trump announces that "the time for trivial fights is behind us" in a his first address to Congress.

(Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool via Bloomberg/Getty Images)

During his address to Congress, Trump honors Carryn Owens, whose husband, US Navy SEAL Ryan Owens, was killed during a raid in Yemen in January. The US-led attack is estimated to have killed 30 civilians, including 17 women and children, and 14 Al-Qaeda fighters.

(Photo via REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau comes to Washington to announce the Canada-US Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visits White House and Trump says he "can live with either" a one-state or a two-state solution, backing away from historic US support for Palestinian state.

Trump tweets that the media is "the enemy of the American people," a day after a wide-ranging press briefing during which he lambasted the press for reporting "fake news" about his administration.

After weeks of mounting pressure, Trump publicly condemns anti-Semitism in response to attacks on Jewish people and institutions across the country.

The Trump administration cracks down on undocumented immigrants, speeding up deportations.

Trump announces $54 billion increase in defense spending.

Kellyanne Conway provokes outrage after being photographed sitting casually with her feet on an Oval Office couch.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from investigations into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia after reports emerge that Sessions did not inform Congress of his meetings with the Russian ambassador during the campaign.

Trump accuses Obama of secretly wiretapping his phones leading up to the 2016 election.

Trump signs a revised travel ban, scaling back a few of the restrictions, in what Trump calls a "watered down version" of the original executive order. Two federal judges rule against the ban on March 15.

Trump surprises a White House tour and poses with a young visitor in front of a portrait of Hillary Clinton

US Attorney Preet Bharara says he was fired by the Trump administration after he refused to resign. Trump, as president-elect, had asked Bharara to stay on.

Trump unveils his federal budget blueprint, proposing cuts to virtually every federal agency besides Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs, which would all receive boosts.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visits the border of North and South Korea, announcing that the US may take pre-emptive action if the country continues expanding its nuclear weapons capability. In this photo, a North Korean soldier covertly photographs Tillerson from behind.

Trump meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss NATO. Trump references reports that Merkel was spied on by Obama in 2013, joking he and Merkel "have something in common, perhaps."

FBI Director James Comey confirms an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and the Trump's campaign's ties to Russian officials. Comey also tells Congress that he has no evidence to support Trump's claims that Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.

Trump meets with truckers and CEOs at the White House and sits in the front seat of a Mack Truck.

In a major setback for Trump, House Republicans pull legislation that would have repealed and replaced Obamacare before it can go to a vote.

Trump signs an executive order rolling back key Obama-era climate policies, including the Clean Power Plan.

Ivanka Trump announces that she will be an official White House employee, taking on an unpaid position as an adviser to her father, after facing criticism from ethics experts for her previously unofficial role.

Rep. Devin Nunes announces that he has information that Trump and his associates may have been "incidentally" surveilled by American intelligence agencies, information The New York Times reported was given to him by two White House officials. Nunes says he will continue to chair the committee investigating the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, amid Democrats' protests.

HIDE CAPTION

SHOW CAPTION

The ACLU's statement continued:

"Trump has bullied the press when they report on him. He has promoted the reporting of fake and outright false information. He imposed gags on federal employees in the earliest days of his administration. He has avoided disclosing his tax records, and he has avoided releasing information about his conflicts of interest. The only reasonable conclusion is to believe the Trump administration has many things it is trying to hide."

The Trump White House logs will be kept under wraps until five years after President Donald Trump leaves office.

The Obama administration had fought to protect some portions of its own White House logs, or circumvent the need to use them, but ultimately released six million of the records.

NOW WATCH: 'Stop shaking your head again': Watch Spicer's tense exchange with a reporter over alleged White House scandals

See Also:

SEE ALSO: White House announces it will keep its visitor logs secret

View original post here:

Conservative and liberal watchdogs slam Trump for refusing to release White House visitor logs - AOL

|

Posted: Apr 15, 2017 12:01 AM

It has always been considered over-the-line to attack the family of your political enemies, but liberals believe those rules dont apply when it comes to Donald Trump. Him, they hate so much that theyre willing to even go after his children. Its disgusting, its hypocritical and as you are about to see, its very, very liberal.

1) Rosie ODonnell Speculated That Barron Trump Is Autistic. In a typically classy move, Rosie ODonnell speculated that 10-year-old Barron Trump might be autistic on Twitter.

Barron Trump autistic? If so what an amazing opportunity to bring attention to the AUTISM epidemic.

After she was buried in an avalanche of grief over her attacks on a 10-year-old, Rosie said she meant no harm because speculating about how other peoples children may have some disorder is apparently what caring people do.

2) Saturday Night Live Writer Katie Rich Said Barron Trump Would Be Americas First Homeschool Shooter. I know that Donald Trump intimidates liberals, but do they have to take it out on his 10-year old-son by tweeting things like, "Barron will be this countrys first homeschool shooter?" Even Saturday Night Live thought that was over-the-line and suspended Katie Rich which of course, prompted liberals to publicly support her because adults bullying a 10-year-old kid is okay as long as his dad is a Republican.

3) The Daily Mail Claimed Melania Trump Was A Prostitute: After claiming that Donald Trumps wife was an escort in the 90s, the liberals at the Daily Mail got a lawsuit for their trouble. Worse yet, they LOST that lawsuit and had to pay out 2.9 million dollars for their malicious attacks.

4) The Daily Show Pushed The Idea That Donald Trump Wants To Have Sex With His Daughter Ivanka. Trevor Noah from the Daily Show promoted the hashtag #DonaldTrumpWantsToBangHisDaughter. Liberals, being liberals, laughed it up, spread it around twitter and made multiple webpages tied to that phrase. Imagine the reaction to a conservative TV show asking people to spread the hashtag #BarrackObamaWantstoScrewMalia. Congressmen would be asked to disassociate themselves from the show, MSNBC would spend all day talking about it and the Daily Show would attack the show relentlessly. But you know, since Ivanka is a Trump, its okay to say things like that about her and her father. Hypocrites.

5) Chelsea Handler Attacked Eric Trumps Unborn Child. Not only have liberals launched hate at the Trump family, theyve even gone on to attack the children in the womb as long as theyre Trumps. Chelsea Handler had this to say about Eric Trumps unborn son, "I guess one of @realDonaldTrump's sons is expecting a new baby. Just what we need. Another person with those jeans. Let's hope for a girl." First of all, jeans? What an idiot. A mean spirited, untalented idiot.

6) Baron Trump Is A Handsome Date Rapist To Be. Comedian Steven Spinola, who contributes on Comedy Central, referred to 10-year-old Barron Trump as a handsome date rapist to be. He followed that up by saying, I dont want my Mom to get raped, but if she does I hope its by Barron Trump. Small pp [sic] would be painless and wed win lots of money in court. Wow, I would say this guy has no future in comedy, but liberals apparently love nasty attacks on kids and if Sarah Silverman and Margaret Cho have careers--thats proof that pretty much anyone can make it.

7) Rapper Bow Wow Said He Would Pimp Out Melania Trump. After Donald Trump complained about rapper Snoop Dogg pretending to threaten him with a gun in a music video, the rappers nephew Bow Wow tweeted, "Ayo @realDonaldTrump shut your punk a-- up talking s--t about my uncle @SnoopDogg before we pimp your wife and make her work for us." Lets face it: Melania Trump is worth more than Snoop Dogg and his untalented cousin combined; so if anybody is getting pimped, it would be Snoop and Bow Wow. (PS: Hey, if either of you read this, your names are just stupid.)

12 Arrested as Rallies in Berkeley Turn Violent

The rest is here:

The 7 Worst Liberal Attacks on Donald Trump's Family - Townhall

Supply-Side Economics, but for Liberals New York Times In the emerging liberal version, government programs enable more people to work, and to work in higher-productivity, higher-income jobs. The end result, if the research is correct, is the same: a nation that is capable of growing faster and producing more.

See more here:

Supply-Side Economics, but for Liberals - New York Times

Eight Pakistanis involved in the mob lynching of a fellow university student over his liberal views were charged with murder and terrorism on Saturday, court officials said, as condemnation grew.

Mashal Khan, a journalism student, was stripped, beaten, shot, and thrown from the second floor of his hostel at the Abdul Wali Khan university in the conservative northwestern town of Mardan on Thursday by a large mob.

So far a total of 12 people have been arrested over the incident and police are hunting for more suspects.

Eight students were presented before an anti-terrorism court in Mardan over murder and challenging the writ of the state, public prosecutor Rafiullah Khan told AFP.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Saturday that he was shocked and saddened, his first statement on Thursdays killing.

Let it be known to the perpetrators of this act that the state shall not tolerate citizens taking the law in their own hands, Sharif said.

The nation should stand united to condemn this crime and to promote tolerance and rule of law in society, he added.

Read more | Pakistan university closes after journalism student lynched for blasphemy

Mushtaq Ghani, Information Minister of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said the government had also requested Peshawar High Court to conduct a judicial probe into the incident.

Graphic video footage from the crime scene showed dozens of men outside the hostel kicking and hurling projectiles at a body sprawled on the ground.

Rights activists and civil society organisations held small protests in several Pakistani cities Saturday condemning the murder, and the UN in Pakistan released a statement.

We urge the authorities to take firm action and bring the perpetuators to speedy justice, said Neil Buhne, United Nations resident coordinator in Pakistan.

Pakistan has strong legal institutions and it is unacceptable for anyone to take the law into their own hands, he added.

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has urged that all those involved in the lynching be brought to justice.

The states abject failure to protect Mashal Khans right to life has created great panic and horror among students and academia. Unless all those who played any part in Mashals brutal murder are brought to justice, such barbarity will only spread, it said.

However, at Khans funeral Friday a local mosque Imam who was also Khans primary school teacher, refused to lead the prayer, Mashals father Iqbal Shayir told AFP.

Shayir said he hoped his sons murder would evoke realisation among people that killing an innocent is a sin.

Students had previously complained to university authorities about Khans alleged secular and liberal views and Khan had been in a heated debate during a class the day he was killed.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive charge in conservative Muslim Pakistan, and can carry the death penalty. Even unproven allegations can cause mob lynchings and violence.

At least 65 people have been murdered by vigilantes over blasphemy allegations since 1990.

The rest is here:

Eight charged over Pakistani liberal student's lynching - Hindustan Times

As centrist politicians in Alberta try to find common ground across party lines, the issue is exposing a longstanding divide in the provincial Liberal party.

Former Edmonton mayor and Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Stephen Mandel is one of the organizers of a private meeting in Red Deer Saturdayto discuss the possibility of unity or cooperation among self-described centrists.

Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark will attend the meeting, as will Liberal leadership candidate Kerry Cundal.

The other candidate for the Liberals top job, David Khan, wont go to the meeting however. And the party wont send an official delegation to the event.

Current Liberal Leader David Swann, who holds the partys only seat in the legislature, said in a recent interview that the timing of the meeting is problematic because the party is in the midst of a leadership campaign that will be decided in June.

But he acknowledged there is a long-running splitamong Alberta Liberals between those interested in working with other parties and potentially forming something new and those determined to stick with the Liberal brand and rebuild the party.

Its always been a question because we have not been in government for 100 years and the question for all of us is, how do we best serve Albertans? Is it through the Liberal party or is it through some sort of cooperative venture? said Swann, the MLA for Calgary-Mountain View.

In 2010, Swann facing the then-PC government in his first turn at the helm of the Liberal party proposed talks with both the NDP and Alberta Party. But neither party was receptive to the idea and Swann also faced a backlash from within Liberal ranks.

It didnt go very well for me, he acknowledged.

So theres this ongoing debate and it will go on and on and people will go in and come out on the basis of that until ultimately a decision is made by the new leader and new board. I dont think anyone is opposed to talking but certainly we havent seen any huge momentum.

The discussions around potential cooperation has taken on new life with the election last month of former MP Jason Kenney as Tory leader on a platform of uniting the PCs and Wildrose. Kenney and Wildrose Leader Brian Jean have formed a discussion group with representatives of each party to discuss a unified entity.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said there could be potential in a centrist alternative to the NDP government and a more right-leaning conservative opposition, but believes it would require a truly unified party made up of Liberals, Alberta Party and disgruntled PC members.

But he noted that many Alberta Liberals despite not holding government since 1921 are reluctant to relinquish the legacy of the federal party andthe provincial partys periods of being a strong opposition in the 1990s and 2000s.

Given the damage thats been done to the brand for so long, its going to be tough, said Bratt.

In a recent news release, Cundal confirmed she would attend the Red Deer meeting and stated her interest in the unite-the-centre idea.

I want to see us reaching out to people who are not necessarily Liberals, but share our values and our principles I am ready to sit down with people who share our principles and our vision for Alberta, she said.

In a message, Khan dismissed the Red Deer event and said that his focus was on rebuilding the Alberta Liberal party.

Im not interested in closed door secret meetings with political insiders, he said.

jwood@postmedia.com

See the article here:

Liberals split over working with other parties - Calgary Herald

NewsBusters (blog)

Hannity, Me and the Media's Liberal Mania NewsBusters (blog) And oh yes, my own version of the liberal mania coming at me, as William F. Buckley described it, with lance cocked. The liberal mania is always amazing to see on display - even when you know its coming. What is the liberal mania? The description ... and more »

See the rest here:

Hannity, Me and the Media's Liberal Mania - NewsBusters (blog)