U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

New poll spells trouble for Michigan Republicans peddling conspiracy theories and opposing abortion rights
Most voters said they dislike Trump and oppose a ban on abortions



Republicans could be in trouble in Michigan because they are out of step with voters on abortion, former President Donald Trump, and conspiracy theories about the election, according to a recent poll on statewide races and Roe v. Wade.

In an EPIC-MRA poll of 600 likely voters between May 11 and 17, 63% of voters said they disagree with the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion.

Only 26% of voters said they support the draft decision.

Many Republican candidates, including virtually all of those running for governor, are running on a platform of opposing all forms of abortion, a position that is very unpopular in Michigan.

Of those surveyed, 57% identify as pro-choice, and 33% are opposed to abortion rights. An additional 10% are undecided.

The poll also shows that between 83% and 85% of likely voters don’t recognize the GOP picks for attorney general and secretary of state — Matt DePerno and Kristina Karamo, respectively, both of whom have echoed Trump’s lies about widespread election fraud.


Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo and attorney general candidate Matt DePerno.

The survey found that only 27% of likely voters believe Joe Biden stole the election from Trump, compared to 61% who believe Biden won fairly. About 12% are undecided.

Biden won the election in Michigan by 3 percentage points.

Of those surveyed, 54% said they view Trump unfavorably.

Detroit Metro Times

[Rick Plant]

Pennsylvania GOP U.S. Senate primary race headed for a recount

The Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate race is headed for a recount.

Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman announced Wednesday afternoon that the margin between Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick in the GOP primary is enough to trigger an automatic recount, which could last into June and cost more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars.

Unofficial results for the contest from all 67 counties show Oz with 419,365 votes and McCormick with 418,463 votes.

Pennsylvania election law requires a recount if the difference between the final two candidates for a statewide office is 0.5 percent of the vote or less. The candidate in second place can decline a recount in writing to the secretary of state, but Chapman said McCormick has not waived the recount.

Chapman said she plans to issue the formal declaration of the recount by 5 p.m. on Thursday, and counties can begin the process as early as Friday.

Local election officials must begin the recount process no later than June 1, with results due by June 7. Recount results must be submitted to the Department of State no later than noon on June 8.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/pa-gop-u-s-senate-primary-race-headed-for-a-recount/


What to know about the Pa. GOP U.S. Senate race recount

Pennsylvania’s top election official announced this week that the Republican U.S. Senate primary race is in for a recount.

“The recount will be conducted transparently as dictated by law,” acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday. “The affected candidates or their attorney representatives are entitled to be present and observe the proceedings.”

The margin between GOP candidates Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick is enough to trigger an automatic statewide recount, with less than 0.5 percent of the vote separating them as of Thursday afternoon.

Both candidates have expressed confidence in the race and facing Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, in November.

While Oz maintains a narrow lead, McCormick has filed a lawsuit to ensure that undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots still returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day count toward final totals. Earlier this week, the Department of State issued guidance to counties, telling them to segregate and tabulate the undated ballots separately.

Here’s what to know about recounts and what comes next:

Who carries out a recount?

Counties carry out the recount process.

Local election officials must recount all ballots with a different method than the initial tabulation, or they can tabulate by hand.

When does the recount start?

Chapman said she plans to issue the formal declaration of a recount by 5 p.m. on Thursday. Counties could start the process as soon as Friday.

The law requires that counties begin the recount no later than June 1.

How long does a recount take?

Counties must finish the recount by noon on June 7, with final results due to the Department of State by noon on June 8.

How much will a recount cost?

The Department of State estimates that the recount will cost taxpayers more than $1 million.

Is a recount required?

Pennsylvania law requires an automatic statewide recount if 0.5 percent or less of the vote separates the leading two candidates.

The candidate with the second-highest number of votes could waive the recount requirement, but McCormick has not.

https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/what-to-know-about-the-pa-gop-u-s-senate-race-recount/

[Rick Plant]

Texas Democrat Demands FBI Probe of Police Response to Uvalde Shooting



U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas urged the FBI on Thursday to investigate law enforcement's response to the deadly elementary school shooting in Uvalde, a demand that came as local police officers faced growing scrutiny and anger over their actions during the massacre and contradictory statements in its wake.

"The people of Uvalde, of Texas, and of the nation deserve an accurate account of what transpired," Castro, a Democrat, wrote in a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray. "However, state officials have provided conflicting accounts that are at odds with those provided by witnesses."

"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter."

Castro pointed specifically to officials' divergent, muddled, and fast-changing narratives on "whether the school security officer and the gunman exchanged fire outside the school" and "how long law enforcement officers were in adjoining classrooms while the gunman barricaded himself in a classroom with students and teachers."

Shortly following Tuesday's shooting—during which a gunman identified as Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers—a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) claimed that a school police officer exchanged gunfire with Ramos before the shooter entered the building through an unlocked door.

The director of DPS later altered that account, saying a school police officer "engaged" Ramos but there was no gunfire exchange.

On Thursday, Victor Escalon Jr.—a regional director of DPS—said that, in fact, no officer confronted Ramos before he entered Robb Elementary School and killed more than 20 people.

Escalon also revealed during a press conference Thursday that the gunman—who crashed his grandmother's vehicle in a nearby ditch—was outside the school for roughly 12 minutes, firing shots at passersby, before he entered the building, an account that conflicted with earlier statements from local authorities.

The gunman was inside the school building for about an hour before a Border Patrol agent shot and killed him.

In his letter on Thursday, Castro noted that "a block of time between 11:30 am and 1 pm local time has yet to be fully accounted for."

"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter," Castro wrote. "I urge the FBI to use its maximum authority to thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response and to produce a full, timely, and transparent report on your findings."

"Your agency must ensure that the American people have a complete and comprehensive account of how this tragedy occurred," he added.

It's hardly surprising that the details of such a chaotic and horrific incident would come into clearer focus in subsequent days, but the deep contradictions and false messages from state officials have been jarring, particularly to grieving parents who were on the scene as the massacre unfolded.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that "people who arrived at the school while Ramos locked himself in a classroom, or saw videos of police waiting outside, were furious."

"The police were doing nothing," Angeli Rose Gomez, a parent of two children at Robb Elementary School, told the newspaper. "They were just standing outside the fence. They weren't going in there or running anywhere."

The Journal reported that Gomez "was one of numerous parents who began encouraging—first politely, and then with more urgency—police and other law enforcement to enter the school sooner."

"After a few minutes, she said, U.S. Marshals put her in handcuffs, telling her she was being arrested for intervening in an active investigation," according to the Journal. "She said she saw a father tackled and thrown to the ground by police and a third pepper-sprayed. Once freed from her cuffs, Ms. Gomez made her distance from the crowd, jumped the school fence, and ran inside to grab her two children. She sprinted out of the school with them."

https://www.rawstory.com/texas-democrat-demands-fbi-probe-of-police-response-to-uvalde-shooting/

[Rick Plant]

Dem interrupts Greg Abbott presser to demand action on gun safety: ‘You have to do something man’



The Democrat who represents Uvalde in the Texas State Senate interrupted a Friday press conference held by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to demand he call the legislature back for a special session on gun safety legislation.

During the press conference, as Abbott was talking about Texas having a long history of allowing 18-year-olds to buy long guns, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez seized the floor.

"My colleagues are asking for a special session, you are getting a letter tomorrow," Gutierrez announced.

"The Senate Democratic Caucus, we have asked for changes, I'm asking you now. I apologize for interrupting your press conference about the needs of this community," he added.

Prior to the press conference, Gutierrez was interviewed by CNN. “There’s no way in the world that an 18-year-old kid should access a militarized weapon like it happened in this situation,” he said. “And I put that on people that are in power in Texas.”

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[Rick Plant]

Right wing Republicans like Ted Cruz want to do more for Russia than help the United States of America. Think about that....it's always about Russia with these traitors.   

Letter reveals Ted Cruz demanded Biden lift sanctions on Russian ammunition manufacturers

On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) was one of several lawmakers who wrote to the Biden administration in September demanding an end to the embargo on Russian ammunition imports.

"The group sent a letter dated Sept. 3 to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen accusing the administration of using the sanctions as a means to enact gun control measures and arguing that it would exacerbate a shortage of ammunition," said the report. "'Wholesalers, retailers, small businesses, gun owners, and shooting sportsmen rely on ammunition imported from Russia and are rightfully concerned that this is an attempt at gun control,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter."

The sanctions were first imposed in response to the 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok. He survived this attempt but was imprisoned on dubious charges upon returning to Russia.

'Two weeks before the letter was sent, the lobbying arm of the NRA wrote about the sanctions, calling it an 'overreach' and 'crusade against law-abiding gun owners' by the Biden administration," said the report. "The letter mirrors the same points the NRA made in its article. The organization wrote that it is exploring all of its legislative, legal and policy options to block the policy."

Other Republican lawmakers who signed the letter include Caucus Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).

AFP

[Rick Plant]

Republican arrested for DUI won’t say where he was before crashing car at 3:45 am



The likely GOP nominee for state treasurer in Vermont is refusing to answer press questions sessions about an incident that resulted in his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence only weeks before filing for office.

"Kevin Divney, a 57-year-old financial analyst who lives in Londonderry, was arrested around 3:45 a.m. on May 11 in the town of Landgrove. A Vermont State Police press release later that day said he showed "signs of impairment." The release did not say whether he was injured in the crash," the Burlington weekly Seven Days reported Friday evening.

Divney is facing "perennial candidate" H. Brooke Paige for the GOP nomination for treasurer. Paige is also the only Republican running for attorney general.

"A political newcomer, Divney declared his candidacy under the wire on Thursday, but has the backing of Vermont GOP Chair Paul Dame," the local news site VT Digger reported.

Divney has appeared on CNBC and Fox Business as a financial analyst.

"In a phone interview on Friday, Divney told Seven Days that he was heading home on the night of his arrest, but he would not say from where," the weekly reported. "Divney was more willing to discuss his candidacy, explaining how he began considering a run for treasurer after he was contacted by the state GOP not long after his arrest. A phone call with former Republican governor Jim Douglas, who once held the treasurer position, ultimately convinced him to run, he said."

Dame, the GOP chairman, is still supporting Divney.

"Although I don’t know the details of exactly what happened, it’s very uncharacteristic," Dame said. "It doesn’t look like a pattern, and I think he’s got some of the best technical experience that we’ve had for somebody in this position."

"At the end of the day, voters will decide," he added.

Treasurer Beth Pearce (D) did not seek re-election due to health reasons. Former Financial Regulation Commissioner Mike Pieciak is running unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination.

https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/vermont-gop-state-treasurer-candidate-was-recently-charged-with-dui/Content?oid=35668348

[Rick Plant]

Another Republican who claims to be  "America First" but she votes against Americans each time she votes on a bill.   

[Rick Plant]

'Boldly ignorant' Ted Cruz slammed by retired NYPD detective for his suggestions to protect kids



Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show," a retired NYPD detective expressed disgust with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) over his attempts to dismiss the idea of new gun laws to protect children in schools and instead is insisting America needs to turn schools into fortresses.

In interviews and appearing at the NRA convention this weekend in Houston, Cruz has vociferously disregarded the easy availability of high-powered weapons and instead focused on a door that was left open at the elementary school where the shooting occurred.

After host Phang shared a clip of the Texas Republican making his case, she asked former law enforcement detective Marq Claxton his thoughts on what Cruz was proposing.

Calling the controversial senator "boldly ignorant," he proceeded to rip Cruz's proposal apart.

"Marq, I was a prosecutor for half my career, I never prosecuted somebody for leaving a door open. How absurd is this proposal by Ted Cruz that the solution is to make sure that we don't have too many doors at our schools?' host Phang asked.

"Ted Cruz's statements were boldly ignorant and dismissive of the clear obvious danger that is faced by so many people in society because of the prevalence of violence and gun violence in particular," he replied. "It really shows just how so many political electeds lack the fortitude to move forward and do the right thing: save lives."

"Instead of sloganeering, Mr.Cruz and his other elected colleagues really should be working on legislation that provides, or minimizes the risk of damage, and could quite possibly and probably save lives," he continued. "That is some additional gun restrictions, some background checks, there are other things that are out there that will undoubtedly be effective and save lives, and prevent these gun violence deaths."

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