Mitt Romney was loudly booed at the Utah Republican party convention on Saturday, and called a 'traitor' and a 'communist' as he tried to speak. 'Aren’t you embarrassed?' the Utah senator asked the crowd of 2,100 delegates at the Maverik Center in West Valley City. 'I’m a man who says what he means, and you know I was not a fan of our last president’s character issues.'
Continue reading...Category Archives: Republicans
Bush: ‘Anglo-Saxon’ ideals show pro-Trump Republicans ‘want to be extinct’
Former president speaks as lone anti-Trump Republican seeks House seat in Texas special election
Ahead of a special election on Saturday to replace a Texas congressman who died after contracting Covid-19, former president George W Bush said the ascendancy of supporters of Donald Trump suggest Republicans “want to be extinct”.
Related: George W Bush on Trump’s Republicans: ‘Isolationist, protectionist, nativist’
Continue reading...How Biden’s firm line with Republicans draws on lesson of Obama’s mistakes
The president has sought bipartisan support but not at the cost of delay and dilution of his bold policies
Joe Biden started his presidential campaign with promises to be a unifying force in Washington who would help lawmakers come together to achieve bipartisan reform. But over his first 100 days in office, Biden’s message to Republicans in Congress has been closer to this: get on board or get out of my way.
This willingness to go it alone if necessary appears to be a hard-won lesson from the early years of Barack Obama’s presidency, when Democrats negotiated with Republicans on major bills only to have them vote against the final proposals.
Continue reading...Joe Biden to set out plans to reshape America in first address to Congress – live
- President to mark 100 days in office with address to lawmakers
- Fewer than half of members of Congress to attend in person
- White House announces sweeping plan for childcare and pre-school
Joe Biden will also speak about gun violence during tonight’s speech, according to USAToday. On the presidential campaign trail, Biden pledged to reinstate the assault weapons ban and create a voluntary gun buyback program.
A White House official told the newspaper that Biden will talk about gun violence as an epidemic, which he has done in the past, and urge Congress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines.
The president’s plea appears to echo a similar one made by Obama at the State of the Union in 2013, two months after Sandy Hook, in which he told Congress victims of gun violence — many of whom were seated in the room — “deserve a vote.” Biden presided over the Senate chamber when a gun safety package failed to pass two months later.
Despite the uphill battle, Democrats are heeding the president’s call. Last week Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., reintroduced a bill to remove protections for manufacturers and sellers from consumer negligence lawsuits and allow victims of gun violence to pursue legal recourse. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a key Democrat leading gun control efforts, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week that he’s made calls to almost half the Republican caucus “asking them to keep an open mind.”
The Guardian’s voting rights reporter, Sam Levine, has an alarming story this morning on Republican efforts to make it harder to vote in Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office:
Even as attacks on voting rights have escalated in recent years, the Republican effort since January marks a new, more dangerous phase for American democracy, experts say.
Related: The Republicans’ staggering effort to attack voting rights in Biden’s first 100 days
Continue reading...Biden hails ‘stunning progress’ on Covid but warns Americans: ‘Do not let up now’ – live
- President lauds vaccination effort to reduce cases and deaths
- Texas sheriff who criticized Trump is nominated to head Ice
- CDC relaxes guidelines on mask-wearing for Americans
- Republicans still orbiting Trump dark star fail to derail Biden
For Democrats it has been a hundred days of sweeping legislation, barrier-breaking appointments and daring to dream big. For Republicans, a hundred days in the political wilderness.
The party that just four years ago controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress now finds itself shut out of power and struggling to find its feet. As Joe Biden forges ahead with ambitions to shift the political paradigm, Republicans still have a Donald Trump problem.
Related: Republicans still orbiting Trump dark star fail to derail Biden’s first 100 days
Senate Democrats are pushing Biden to admit more refugees into the US.
Biden’s announcement earlier this month that he would not increase refugee admissions from the record low cap of 15,000 that Donald Trump set before leaving office. After intense pushback from advocates and Democratic lawmakers, Biden said he’d increase the cap by 15 May.
Related: Biden walks back refugee admissions policy after outcry and will lift cap in May
Continue reading...Biden set to announce new mask guidance for vaccinated people – US politics live
- Sources say new CDC guidance relates to outdoor mask-wearing
- Democratic president promises ‘new normal’ by Fourth of July
The Supreme Court accepted what will be a closely watched gun rights case today –it could have a major impact on gun rights across the country.
Here’s more from the AP:
The case marks the court’s first foray into gun rights since Justice Amy Coney Barrett came on board in October, making a 6-3 conservative majority.
The justices said Monday they will review a lower-court ruling that upheld New York’s restrictive gun permit law. The court’s decision to take on the case follows mass shootings in recent weeks in Indiana, Georgia, Colorado and California and comes amid congressional efforts to tighten gun laws.
"The outlook does not look good for gun safety laws at the Supreme Court...the Court could issue a radical Second Amendment ruling that jeopardizes future progress as well as lifesaving gun laws already on the books." @GiffordsCourage says in a statement.
Republican Alaska lawmaker Lora Reinbold is banned from Alaska Airlines flights, after she has repeatedly refused to wear a mask. Masks can help protect other people from exposure to Covid-19 and other illnesses, if worn properly.
The ban is a major problem for the lawmaker, because Alaska Airlines operates the only flight to and from the capital, Juneau. Instead, she had to make a 14-hour trek to get to work
We have notified Senator Lora Reinbold that she is not permitted to fly with us for her continued refusal to comply with employee instruction regarding the current mask policy,” airlines spokesman Tim Thompson told the Anchorage Daily News.
“This suspension is effective immediately, pending further review. Federal law requires all guests to wear a mask over their nose and mouth at all times during travel, including throughout the flight, during boarding and deplaning, and while traveling through an airport,” he said.
Continue reading...US lawmakers ‘making progress’ on police reform – but it’s still early stages
There are few who see the passing of meaningful new laws as a guaranteed outcome – but people are still talking
In the aftermath of Derek Chauvin being convicted of murdering George Floyd, it seems like there is momentum for the US Congress to pass some kind of police reform bill.
Hearings on policing have been held and point people on both the Democratic and Republican sides are in talks. By most metrics, Congress is in a comfortable position to pass some kind of bill meant to deter police brutality and prevent another George Floyd or Eric Garner.
Continue reading...US lifts pause on Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine – as it happened
- CDC advisory panel said benefits outweigh risk of rare blood clots
- Joe Biden urges world leaders to invest in green energy
- Caitlyn Jenner announces run for California governor
That’s all for today – thanks for following along and have a nice weekend. Some key links from the day:
The CDC’s decision to lift pause on Johnson & Johnson means that the single-dose vaccine could become available again starting this weekend.
In Los Angeles, the county says it is preparing to resume J&J administration as soon as possible:
L.A. County prepping to resume administering Johnson & Johnson vaccine as soon as possible https://t.co/g5tTy8RU2p
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg in climate call to young people: ‘No limits to what we can accomplish’ – live
- Activist: young people will feel better by acting on climate change
- House subcommittee holds hearing on on fossil fuels with activist
- Biden at climate summit: ‘No nation can solve this crisis on our own’
- Analysis: climate summit test for Biden’s China watchwords
John Kerry dismissed a question on whether he was concerned about Republican opposition to Joe Biden’s climate proposals.
The president’s special envoy for climate noted that many policies can be implemented through executive orders, combined with cooperation from the private sector.
John Kerry, Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, said Donald Trump’s policies “destroyed” America’s credibility on the world stage when it comes to addressing climate change.
The former secretary of state noted that today, which is Earth Day, marks five years since he signed the Paris climate agreement in New York, with his granddaughter on his knee.
Continue reading...‘Today we did it’: Joe Biden touts 200m vaccine shots administered – live
- President promised 200m jabs in his first 100 days
- Biden to urge employers to give paid time off for vaccinations
- Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email
After nearly two decades of fighting, Biden has declared that the war in Afghanistan is coming to an end. The President plans to officially close the chapter by the anniversary of Sept. 11 this year, the New York Times reports.
But, it still remains unclear what that means for 40 remaining detainees still imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay. Layers for two of the prisoners reportedly told federal judges this week that their clients could not be held after the war ends and filed motions for their release.
One of the detainees, Khalid Qassim, 44, is a Yemeni man who has been held without trial at Guantánamo for nearly 19 years; he was captured in late 2001 or early 2002 and is being held as a Qaeda trainee who “may have fought for the Taliban in or near Kabul and Bagram, Afghanistan, before fleeing to the Tora Bora mountains in late 2001.”
The other, an Afghan named Asadullah Haroon Gul, who is about 40, was captured in 2007 by Afghan forces and turned over to the United States military. A basis for holding him is his past affiliation with a militia that made peace with the Afghan government in 2017, essentially breaking with the Taliban.
Related: My Brother’s Keeper: a former Guantánamo detainee's unlikely friendship with his guard
The House has passed legislation to curb presidential power to institute travel bans like those Trump imposed to limit entry into the US from predominantly Muslim countries.
The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (or the NO BAN Act), which prevents presidents from issuing future orders based on religion, requires bans to be temporary, and will give Congress more oversight, passed the house 218-208.
The Muslim Ban was always wrong, needless, and cruel and failed to live up to the requirements laid out by the Supreme Court. Religious bans have no place in our country or our laws and today, we are voting to make sure this never happens again. pic.twitter.com/njTtTEBuiU
Although the travel ban has been reversed, we must ensure that no future presidents abuse their power through executive action. That’s why I voted in support of the NO BAN Act. No president should have the authority to discriminate against migrants based on their religion.
Continue reading...George W Bush on Trump’s Republicans: ‘isolationist, protectionist, nativist’
- Ex-president laments ‘when we scare people about immigration’
- Bush signals he is out of step with modern Republican party
- US politics – live coverage
George W Bush has called the Republican party under Donald Trump “isolationist, protectionist and … nativist” – a judgment unlikely to make the former US president new friends on the American right.
Related: George W Bush is back – but not all appreciate his new progressive image
Continue reading...Biden says of Chauvin trial: ‘I’m praying the verdict is the right verdict’ – live
- Biden says of Chauvin case: ‘I think it’s overwhelming, in my view’
- Sequestered jury in Minneapolis began deliberations on Monday
- National guard to assist Washington police in event of protests
Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, said earlier today that he spoke to Joe Biden about the trial.
“He knows how it is to lose a family member,” Floyd told the “Today” show. “He was just letting us know that he was praying for us and hoping that everything would come out to be okay.”
“He was just letting us know that he was praying for us and hoping that everything would come out to be OK.” -Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, on his phone conversation with President Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/OUEp6Lvbhw
Joe Biden addressed the Derek Chauvin murder trial moments ago in the Oval Office, as he prepared to meet with leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
The president confirmed he spoke to George Floyd’s family yesterday, as the jury began its deliberations. Biden noted he wanted to wait to contact them until after the jury was sequestered.
After phone call with George Floyd's family, President Biden says he is "praying the verdict is the right verdict," adding that he is only speaking out because the jury is sequestered. https://t.co/zstpyxCqRk pic.twitter.com/RcrACo79DU
Continue reading...The invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea
Before the 17th century, people did not think of themselves as belonging to something called the white race. But once the idea was invented, it quickly began to reshape the modern world
In 2008, a satirical blog called Stuff White People Like became a brief but boisterous sensation. The conceit was straightforward, coupling a list, eventually 136 items long, of stuff that white people liked to do or own, with faux-ethnographic descriptions that explained each item’s purported racial appeal. While some of the items were a little too obvious – indie music appeared at #41, Wes Anderson movies at #10 – others, including “awareness” (#18) and “children’s games as adults” (#102), were inspired. It was an instant hit. In its first two months alone, Stuff White People Like drew 4 million visitors, and it wasn’t long before a book based on the blog became a New York Times bestseller.
The founder of the blog was an aspiring comedian and PhD dropout named Christian Lander, who’d been working as an advertising copywriter in Los Angeles when he launched the site on a whim. In interviews, Lander always acknowledged that his satire had at least as much to do with class as it did with race. His targets, he said, were affluent overeducated urbanites like himself. Yet there’s little doubt that the popularity of the blog, which depended for its humour on the assumption that whiteness was a contentless default identity, had much to do with its frank invocation of race. “As a white person, you’re just desperate to find something else to grab on to,” Lander said in 2009. “Pretty much every white person I grew up with wished they’d grown up in, you know, an ethnic home that gave them a second language.”
Continue reading...Maxine Waters criticised by Republicans for Minneapolis remarks – video
The Democratic representative Maxine Waters has come under criticism from the Republican house minority leader, after she expressed support for protesters against police brutality at a rally on Saturday in Brooklyn Center, the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by police last week.
Waters said she would 'continue to fight in every way that I can for justice', prompting the Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, to accuse Waters of 'inciting violence in Minneapolis'
Continue reading...Fauci: Republican vaccine deniers are hurting efforts to lift Covid restrictions
‘On the one hand they want to be relieved of the restrictions. On the other hand, they don’t want to get vaccinated’
Republicans who refuse the Covid-19 vaccination are actively “working against” efforts to lift the very coronavirus restrictions they insist are an infringement of their civil liberties, Dr Anthony Fauci, the US government’s leading infectious disease expert, said on Sunday.
Fauci, who was involved in a fiery exchange over the issue with the Republican congressman Jim Jordan on Thursday, told CNN’s State of the Union he was frustrated by recent studies showing that up to 45% of Republicans would not take the vaccine.
Continue reading...Fauci spars with Republican congressman over when to lift Covid restrictions – live
- Jim Jordan says Americans’ rights have been trampled in past year
- Fauci: ‘I don’t look at this as a liberty thing … it’s a public health thing’
- Pfizer CEO: third Covid vaccine likely needed within a year
- Biden slaps new sanctions on Russia over election meddling
House minority leader Kevin McCarthy wished Mike Pence a speedy recovery, after the former vice-president’s office said he had a pacemaker implanted yesterday.
“Wishing my friend @Mike_Pence a swift recovery. Judy and I are thinking of you as you overcome this challenge—you are in our prayers,” McCarthy said on Twitter.
Wishing my friend @Mike_Pence a swift recovery. Judy and I are thinking of you as you overcome this challenge—you are in our prayers. https://t.co/UPt1Lwa8k0
The CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, has said people will “likely” need a third coronavirus vaccine dose within a year, with annual revaccinations also a possibility.
“We need to see what would be the sequence, and for how often we need to do that, that remains to be seen,” Bourla told a CNBC reporter during an event with CVS Health. The CEO’s comments were released today, but they were filmed two weeks ago.
Continue reading...Fight to vote: why US democracy is at a tipping point – video
The new Georgia voting rights law makes it harder to vote, especially for communities that tend to vote for Democrats – and that's what Republicans want. But it's not just Georgia: these restrictive voting laws are being considered in nearly every state in America, from Arizona to Texas to Florida.
These efforts come on the heels of the 2020 presidential election, which Republicans lost by slim margins in several states. Many Republicans claimed they lost because of voter fraud – because people who were ineligible to vote found a way to skirt the rules and cast ballots. Election officials around the nation said there was no widespread fraud, but Republicans are using this argument to push for a wide array of laws that will skew election in their favor.
If enacted, Americans will have to ask a hard question: is the US still a democracy?
Alvin Chang and Sam Levine explain this Republican effort to suppress voting rights as part of the Guardian's Fight to Vote series
Continue reading...Whitmer won’t go ‘punch for punch’ with Republican who called her a witch
- Governor and others ‘ready for burning at stake’, GOP chair said
- Democrat laments ‘layer of misogyny’ towards female leaders
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, will not “go punch for punch” with Republican leaders in the state who have attacked her in misogynistic terms, one going so far as to call Whitmer and two other leading Democrats “three witches” set to be “burned at the stake”.
Related: ‘Dumb son of a bitch’: Trump attacks McConnell in Republican donors speech
Continue reading...‘Truth will prevail’: Matt Gaetz takes break from scandal to speak at Trump club
- Congressman faces allegations over sex, drugs and nude photos
- Women for America First also helped organise 6 January rally
The Florida congressman Matt Gaetz insisted on Friday “the truth will prevail” over allegations of sex trafficking and illegal drug use which have pitched him into the centre of a congressional scandal.
Related: Republican Matt Gaetz faces calls to resign from member of his own party
Continue reading...The scandal that wasn’t: Republicans deflated as nation shrugs at Hunter Biden revelations
Trump and his allies foresaw a ticking timebomb centred on the president’s son – but it has not turned out that way
Where’s Hunter?
The rhetorical question about Joe Biden’s troubled son was posed time and again by Donald Trump during last year’s US presidential election but never caught fire in the way “Lock her up!” did against Hillary Clinton.
Continue reading...