Robinson: With both parties in crisis, turmoil is the new normal
Donald Trump is not the disease that afflicts our politics. He's a symptom, like nausea or an embarrassing rash.
Category Archives: US Politics
Senators: High fees not best way to maintain national parks
Maine's two U.S. senators say the U.S. Department of the Interior should take a different approach than raising fees to address a maintenance backlog at national parks. Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King sent a letter to the department after an announcement that it is proposing increasing fees at 17 national parks, one of which is Acadia National Park.
Because Madigan
So, what would I do differently? That's a good question. First of all I'd ask everybody to turn out.
Candidates for Virginia governor weigh in on health care
In this Tuesday Sept. 26, 2017, file photo, Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie smiles during an interview in Richmond, Va.
Orrin Hatch Tells Friends He Plans to Retire
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah-Senator Orrin Hatch has privately told allies in Utah that he is planning to retire at the end of his term next year, and if he does, Mitt Romney intends to run for his seat, according to five sources familiar with the situation. "Nothing has changed since The Atlantic published a carbon copy of this same story in April, likely with the same anonymous sources who were no more informed on the Senator's thinking than they seem to be now," said Dave Hansen, a spokesperson for Hatch.
Trump administration disavows Puerto Rico power contract
The Trump administration said Friday it had no involvement in the decision to award a $300 million contract to help restore Puerto Rico's power grid to a tiny Montana company in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's hometown. White House spokesman Raj Shah said Friday that federal officials played no role in the selection of Whitefish Energy Holdings by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.
In topsy-turvy Washington, Democrats are no longer the hunters
Author and columnist Mark Steyn told Tucker Carlson on Fox News this week that the probes into President Donald Trump's supposed collusion with Russian interests resemble but an outrageous "high-concept thriller" in which he is innocent. On Wednesday, Steyn and Carlson discussed the revelation that a dossier on Trump that may have influenced the FBI and the Department of Justice to investigate then-candidate Trump was created by the research firm Fusion GPS and the behest of Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
GOP leaders: House will vote next week on wildfire bill
Republican leaders say the House will vote next week on a GOP bill to make it easier to cut down trees on national forests to reduce the risk of wildfire. A bill by Arkansas congressman Bruce Westerman would loosen environmental regulations for forest-thinning projects on federal lands.
Big divisions remain as GOP nears its tax deadline37 minutes ago
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., joined at right by Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., holds a news conference following a closed-door Republican strategy session at Republican National Committee Headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, last month. WASHINGTON – Republicans set an aggressive timeline for passing legislation to overhaul the nation's tax code, putting pressure on senior lawmakers and the White House to resolve major disagreements about the effort before a Wednesday deadline to introduce a bill.
Hypocrites, bigots & liars
We expect hypocrisy in our government and our leaders. All too often, those who decry something they claim is bad or illegal is also what they do themselves.
White Gold Star Widow In Niger Ambush Breaks Silence On Trump Condolence Call To Her
Michelle Black was reportedly comforted by Trump's "gracious" call in the days after her Special Forces husband Bryan Black was killed in an ambush by Islamic State-linked militants in Niger. "I'm very grateful that he called and he spoke to the kids.
One Hundred ‘Handmaids’ Greet Mike Pence to Protest GOP’s Anti-Choice Agenda
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Hillary Clinton’s “real Russia scandal”: The vast…
Right-wing media's latest concoction: Stir a few old stories into the cauldron of Hillary hate. It just might work about the brewing hysteria I saw in the right-wing media over what they're calling the "real Russia scandal."
Adam Schiff says Donald Trump is preventing bipartisan consensus on Russian meddling
"The single biggest step we need to take to protect our election going forward is [to develop] the bipartisan consensus that if a foreign power intervenes next time, we will all reject it," Mr. Schiff, California Democrat, said on MSNBC. "The single biggest impediment to reaching that consensus is the president of the United States who will not even acknowledge that that happened."
Trump Vows To Give ‘Just About Everything’ On JFK To The Public
President Donald Trump promised to release additional files related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy Friday morning after withholding certain documents from the public a day earlier when their confidential status expired. JFK Files are being carefully released.
With budget outline approved, GOP plots next steps on tax reform
It was hard to tell that the House of Representatives had just narrowly approved a Senate-passed budget outline for 2018, because most of the talk on and off the House floor on Thursday was about lawmakers moving on to forge a tax reform bill in coming weeks, as GOP leaders predicted that Republicans would unify behind a still-to-be-released plan, and get it done by Christmas. "We're glad it passed," said a smiling Rep. Doug Collins .
Mom fights to have 10-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy released from immigration detention
The mother of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who was detained by Border Patrol agents after undergoing surgery is fighting to get her back. After undergoing gallbladder surgery Tuesday, federal agents refused to release Rosa Maria Hernandez back to her parents, sending her instead to a children's shelter in San Antonio, Texas, that her family said is not equipped to care for her, according to the attorney representing the mother.
The business community looks to Washington and Richmond for answers
"I can't really think of the last time I've been in a client meeting over the past six months where they haven't asked me what I think that Congress is going to do with tax reform," says Stephen Kimberlin, a CPA who is senior tax manager at Dixon Hughes Goodman in Richmond. "It goes hand-in-hand.
Prescription bill slows opioid flow
The state Senate unanimously has passed a bill that would help to heal some of the damage caused by Rep. Tom Marino's bill diminishing the ability of the Drug Enforcement Administration to reduce the flow of powerful prescription opioid painkillers onto the black market. Marino, the 10th Congressional District Republican from Lycoming County, withdrew from consideration to be the national "drug czar" last week.
Barletta renews call for term limits
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