Predictions: DeWine-Rosenberger Gov. Ticket, Householder Returns To House Speaker

Governor John Kasich, who is being dubbed by some statehouse insiders these days as “John Who?” still has two years left in his term, but with the clout Majority Caucus Republicans will yield next year in the House and Senate, his last biennial budget could be dead on arrival, and any bills sent to him that he chooses to veto can be easily over ridden if Republican will is strong enough.

Republican attorneys general eager to dism…

As soon as President-elect Donald Trump assumes office Jan. 20, Republican attorneys general who have spent the past eight years battling the Obama administration’s climate change agenda will have a new role: supporting the Republican president’s complex legal effort to roll back that agenda. By contrast, states with Democratic leadership – such as California, where Gov. Jerry Brown has promised all-out war against Mr. Trump on global warming – will go from being environmental partners with the federal government to legal aggressors on their own.

Not All CIA Agents Think Alike: ‘BradCast’ 12/26/2106

It’s a very white Christmas for many on the right, as ‘PDiddie’ finds in this year’s collection of Holiday toons… Guest: Daniel Nichanian on proactive, state-by-state measures Dems can and must take to expand voting rights; And much more!… Freakishly hot Arctic; New Obama drilling bans; Climate change juiced extreme events: NOAA; Trump voters support carbon regulation; PLUS : Solar now world’s cheapest energy… Also: NC’s brazen GOP coup a model for nation, and Obama’s last ditch efforts to save the planet from Trump… High lead levels in 1000s of towns; Water safe again in Corpus Christi; Int.

Not All CIA Agents Think Alike: ‘BradCast’ 12/26/2106

It’s a very white Christmas for many on the right, as ‘PDiddie’ finds in this year’s collection of Holiday toons… Guest: Daniel Nichanian on proactive, state-by-state measures Dems can and must take to expand voting rights; And much more!… Freakishly hot Arctic; New Obama drilling bans; Climate change juiced extreme events: NOAA; Trump voters support carbon regulation; PLUS : Solar now world’s cheapest energy… Also: NC’s brazen GOP coup a model for nation, and Obama’s last ditch efforts to save the planet from Trump… High lead levels in 1000s of towns; Water safe again in Corpus Christi; Int.

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FILE – In this Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, file photo, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks with supporters at the Guilford County Democratic Party headquarters in Greensboro, N.C. Cooper, No… RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina’s next Democratic governor has seen a deal he helped broker to repeal the state’s law limiting LGBT protections fall apart and had several of his powers stripped away by the state’s Republican-dominated legislature. And he hasn’t even been sworn in yet.

Failed deal to undo LGBT law marks rocky start for governor

North Carolina’s Democratic Governor-elect fights an uphill battle against GOP majority after efforts to repeal the state’s ‘bathroom bill’ fall through The deeply divided state voted Republican in the presidential and senate races, but elected a Democratic governor, making Cooper’s job very difficult House Bill 2, commonly known as the ‘bathroom bill’ has been blamed for job losses, canceled events, and staining North Carolina’s reputation He hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but several of his powers have already been stripped away by the state’s Republican-dominated legislature North Carolina’s next Democratic governor faces a tough uphill battle in a state that voted Republican in the presidential and senate races.

Failed deal to undo LGBT law marks rocky start for governor

North Carolina’s Democratic Governor-elect fights an uphill battle against GOP majority after efforts to repeal the state’s ‘bathroom bill’ fall through The deeply divided state voted Republican in the presidential and senate races, but elected a Democratic governor, making Cooper’s job very difficult House Bill 2, commonly known as the ‘bathroom bill’ has been blamed for job losses, canceled events, and staining North Carolina’s reputation He hasn’t even been sworn in yet, but several of his powers have already been stripped away by the state’s Republican-dominated legislature North Carolina’s next Democratic governor faces a tough uphill battle in a state that voted Republican in the presidential and senate races.

Smerconish: Rights, wrongs, and a few surprises in ’16

A Philadelphia lawyer turned political commentator, Michael Smerconish is a nationally syndicated radio host, best-selling author and weekly contributing columnist to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sunday Currents section. The Michael Smerconish Program is heard exclusively on SiriusXM – POTUS Channel 124 from 9a12p ET – reairing again 6-9p ET.

Opinions

In his upcoming budget proposal, Gov. Scott Walker is proposing to establish a series of sunrise and sunset review commissions that would analyze proposed and existing occupational licenses to see if they are needed, or if they are too restrictive, and we think it is a good proposal that is long overdue. Friday, February 3, 2017 Some might consider our reporting of an affair between two Oneida County sheriff’s department officers to be a bit tawdry, but what’s tawdry is not the reporting but the behavior.

HB2 and the repeal that didn’t happen

North Carolina lawmakers ended the year in a frustrating fizzle last week after a one-day specially convened legislative session to repeal the state’s most contentious issue failed. All day Wednesday they spent in and out of closed-door meetings, attempting complex legislative maneuvers and berating each other about repealing the House Bill 2 “bathroom bill” which requires transgender people in public buildings to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate.

Curtis, Saine discuss HB2

The North Carolina General Assembly is making headlines for the second consecutive week following a special session called to vote on the repeal of House Bill 2, a law that requires transgender people to use the bathroom based on the gender specified on their birth certificate. Earlier this week, it appeared state legislators and the city of Charlotte had reached a compromise that would do away with the controversial law.

Klobuchar will run again for Senate, rules herself out for governor’s race

Duty-Bound: U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar turned down calls urging her to run for governor, saying instead that her experience is need at a pivotal time in Washington. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will run for re-election in 2018, ruling herself out for Minnesota’s next race for governor as she prepares to challenge the new Trump administration and look for ways to work with Republicans leading Congress.

This Christmas my prayers are for the people of Aleppo

It is a Christmas accompanied by the horrors of mass executions of women and children, airstrikes and barrel bombing of civilians – and mostly world silence in response. Americans witnessed neatly edited clips of human suffering in Aleppo as its residents made heartbreaking pleas for the world to save them.

As Obama accomplished policy goals, his party floundered

In boasting about his tenure in the White House, President Barack Obama often cites numbers like these: 15 million new jobs, a 4.9 per cent unemployment rate and 74 months of consecutive job growth. That’s the number of spots in state legislatures, governor’s mansions and Congress lost by Democrats during Obama’s presidency.

Trump confidant says Michelle Obama belongs with African gorillas, wishes death upon the president

Carl Paladino, a former co-chair of Donald Trump’s campaign and the man New York Republicans elected as their gubernatorial nominee in 2010, told a local newspaper in Buffalo that he hopes President Obama catches mad cow disease and dies, and that Michelle Obama is a man and should be “let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla.” The remarks came as answers to a questionnaire by Buffalo alt-weekly ArtVoice , which sent a harmless 4-question survey to local officials and city residents .

Republicans to target unions, expand school choice in states

In this Dec. 1, 2016, file photo, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin speaks before the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump during the first stop of Trump’s post-election tour in Cincinnati. With Republicans strengthening their grip on power in the November elections, Bevin said Republicans will pursue numerous “things that have been bottled up for years and need to at least have votes on them,” citing school choice measures and “reform” proposals for pension, tax and litigation laws, among others.

Blagojevich asks for presidential commutation

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is seeking a presidential commutation, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Justice. The long-shot request comes more than four months after U.S. District Judge James Zagel reinstated the 14-year prison sentence.

Wisconsin panel OKs investigation into John Doe leaks

The Wisconsin Assembly has authorized Attorney General Brad Schimel to investigate how evidence collected during a secret investigation into Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign was leaked to a newspaper. The Guardian US in September published hundreds of sealed documents from the so-called John Doe investigation, which was shut down by conservative state Supreme Court justices in 2015.

Repeal of N.C.’s – bathroom bill’ stumbles

A sign protesting a recent North Carolina law restricting transgender bathroom access is seen in the bathroom stalls at the 21C Museum Hotel in Durham, N.C., on May 3, 2016. Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Jonathan Drake/File photo A deal has fallen apart to undo the North Carolina law known as the “bathroom bill” in a sign of the state’s bitter political divide.

McCrory Blames Left-Wing Groups For No Repeal Of North Carolina…

Outgoing North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory blamed left-wing groups for scuttling an agreement that would have repealed an anti-LGBT law. The Republican called the special session Wednesday, but it ended without approved legislation to get rid of House Bill 2. Gay rights groups and others who pushed for repeal blamed Republican lawmakers for failing to keep its promise to act after the Charlotte City Council repealed its ordinance.