Politics
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Yes, Trump Voters Will Stick With Him Forever
I have steadfastly avoided most “Trump voter” treatises in the news and the constant rush to check on his approval ratings. They reek of a fawning, confused attempt to normalize, empathize with and explain elements of American society that people of color, and white folks with even a rudimentary knowledge of history, have always known.…
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The GOP Keeps Quietly Purging Black Voters—and Democrats Aren’t Doing Anything About It
When both Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Marcel Groen and the North Carolina Democratic Party’s deputy executive director, Douglass Wilson, were asked about a little-known, but nasty, national voter-purge effort called “Interstate Crosscheck” in their respective states during a broadcast of Reality Check, this author’s daily public-affairs radio program on Philadelphia’s WURD, neither could say what…
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Bill Enforcing Texas Law Enforcement Requirement to Report Shootings Heading to Governor’s Desk
Updated Tuesday, May 23, 2017, 9:40 p.m. EDT: House Bill 245 passed the Texas Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 28-3. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott to be signed into law. Rep. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas), who wrote the bill, told The Root that he was proud of his…
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Joe Biden Sounds a Lot Like Bitter Bernie Sanders: Thinks Hillary Clinton Was Not a Great Candidate but He Is
Hindsight is 20-20, but with respect to the 2016 presidential election, former Vice President Joe Biden seems to have cataracts when assessing what might have been. Last week, during an appearance at a hedge fund conference in Las Vegas, Biden had this to say about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton: “I never thought she…
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Trump Administration’s Failure to Recognize Haiti Is a Painful American Tradition
Editor’s note: Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced Monday that he has extended Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status for six more months. He hinted that this shortened extension will be the last, saying that TPS recipients should take “time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States.” …
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Trump’s New Budget Slashes Medicaid, Other Anti-Poverty Programs for Needy Families
Donald Trump is set Tuesday to reveal his first major budget proposal, and with it comes major cuts to Medicaid and changes to anti-poverty programs that would allow states to limit a range of benefits for needy families, something Congress has already been uneasy about. Trump’s plan follows through on a bill passed by House…
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Report: Trump Asked Intelligence Chiefs to Help Him Push Back Against FBI Probe Into Russian Collusion
In his capacity as president, Donald Trump reportedly asked two high-ranking national intelligence officials in March to help him push back against the FBI investigation into possible connections between his presidential campaign and the Russian government. Two current and two former intelligence officials spoke with the Washington Post on condition of anonymity, saying that Trump…
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Supreme Court Rules That Disenfranchising Voters Is OK … as Long as It Isn’t Racist
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a devastating blow to race-based gerrymandering Monday when it ruled that North Carolina’s Legislature used racial considerations in redrawing two of the state’s voting districts. That’s the lead you’re likely to read as news outlets everywhere report on the high court’s 5-3 decision declaring that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled Legislature relied…
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‘Sessions Must Go’ Projected on Justice Department Headquarters, FBI Building
In a righteous act of artistic resistance and rebellion, an image of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions wearing a Ku Klux Klan costume, along with various hashtags, was projected on Department of Justice headquarters as well as the FBI building in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night. USA Today reports that Robin Bell took credit for…
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Former FBI Director James Comey Will Testify in Open Hearing Before Senate Intelligence Committee
Former FBI Director James Comey has agreed to testify in an open hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss his role in the investigation probing Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election. NPR reports that the hearing will be scheduled for after Memorial Day. “The committee looks forward to receiving testimony from the former…