U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

'Pass the damn bill:’ Biden demands chips legislation to counter China tech rise

President Biden urged Congress to swiftly pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a multibillion dollar investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” Biden said. “If we do, it’s going to help bring down prices, bring home jobs and power America’s manufacturing comeback.”

The president stressed the bill appeals to American lawmakers because it seeks to bolster U.S. technology and innovation and keep pace with China.



President Joe Biden on Friday demanded Congress swiftly pass the Bipartisan Innovation Act, a multibillion-dollar investment in the U.S. semiconductor industry that both Republican and Democrat say will help insulate the country from future supply chain disruptions in Asia.

Biden spoke at United Performance Metals, a metal manufacturer near Cincinnati. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, from Ohio, joined the president.

Biden applauded the two men for their collaboration on the legislation as part of the broader bipartisan effort to bulk up domestic manufacturing.

“This is a bipartisan bill,” Biden told workers at the plant. “Senators Brown and Portman are working hard to get it done.”

“Pass the damn bill and send it to me,” the president continued. “If we do, it’s going to help bring down prices, bring home jobs and power America’s manufacturing comeback.”

While the Bipartisan Innovation Act is popular with members of both parties, House and Senate lawmakers are about to begin work on rectifying differences in their two legislative versions. Negotiators for both chambers, including Brown, will hold their first formal meeting on the bill on Thursday, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Among its many provisions, the Bipartisan Innovation Act includes $52 billion in government subsidies to ramp up U.S. semiconductor production.

Biden said Friday that the sum will encourage semiconductor companies to build facilities in the U.S. and help prevent the types of chip shortages that currently undermine the automotive and electronics industries.

But the president stressed the thrust of the bill appeals to American lawmakers because it seeks to bolster U.S. technology and innovation and keep pace with China, a key geopolitical rival.

It’s going to help “strengthen our economic and national security,” Biden said. “It’s no wonder the Chinese Communist Party is literally lobbying — paying lobbyists — against this bill passing.”

In his remarks, Biden highlighted the Labor Department’s April employment report, which showed U.S. employers added 428,000 jobs last month.

The April report was the 12th straight month of gains over 400,000.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/06/biden-demands-congress-pass-chips-innovation-bill-to-counter-china.html

[Rick Plant]

Psaki delivers strong warning on Republicans working to enact total ban on abortion and contraception



White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki delivered a lengthy and detailed statement when asked about the impending Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade and Republicans’ war on both abortion and contraception.

“I think we’re at serious risk,” Psaki told a reporter asking about Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s threat to enact a nationwide ban on abortion.

“As you noted Mitch McConnell and other Republicans in Congress are talking about a national ban on a woman’s right to choose,” she continued, noting “dozens and dozens of Republicans in Congress signed on to the Mississippi court case and advocating for severe restrictions on a woman’s right to choose, and a woman’s right to make choices about her own body.

“And we’ve seen in other places in the country,” she added, pointing to the Governor of Mississippi’s refusal to state “whether they would directly go after the right to use contraception.”

“So as the President has said, over the course of the last nearly week, his concern is about yes, a woman’s right to make choices about her own health care, about what this final [Supreme Court] opinion could be. It’s also about what choices could be made that go beyond that. I’d also note that Louisiana legislators advanced a bill to classify abortion as homicide which would allow women to terminate their pregnancies to be charged with murder and potentially criminalized in vitro fertilization and forms of birth control. So in some ways, yes, you’re seeing an outcry by the nearly two thirds of the public and many of them peacefully protesting, who are concerned about what this opinion will say, but you’re also seeing a number of Republicans in states and some in Congress double down on this potential to overturn a law that has been the law of the land for 50 years.”

Responding to a different question Psaki warned, “when we’re talking about Roe, Roe has been the precedent for a number of other laws passed by the Supreme Court that impacts people’s fundamental lives, their basic rights, their freedoms, their privacy and their protections, including if you look back Griswold v. Connecticut, Eisenstaedt v. Baird, which ensured the right to use contraception was protected. That is law now, but we are clear-eyed about this being a precedent for that and what could come next. Obergefell v. Hodges, which protects the right to marry. Lawrence v. Texas, which stops government from preventing sexual relationships between consenting adults. For 50 years Roe has been the basis for a number of these decisions that have have impacted and change people’s lives, in our view for the better.”

CSPAN @CSPAN

Q: "How at risk does the administration believe the U.S. is to completely outlawing abortion?"

@PressSec Jen Psaki: "I think we're at serious risk."

https://twitter.com/i/status/1523755086421372928

[Rick Plant]

Republicans admit they're trying to destroy Madison Cawthorn: 'Get this guy out'



Democrats hoping to see Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R) ousted from his seat representing North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives after just one term are getting an able assist from some unlikely allies -- Republicans and former friends of the controversial lawmaker back in his home state.

According to a report from the Daily Beast's Sam Brodey and Roger Sollenberger, Republicans and conservatives in North Carolina -- with the support of outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) -- are openly boasting that they want him gone and are connected to leaks of embarrassing photos and videos of Cawthorn that have reportedly even disgusted former president Donald Trump, who has nonetheless endorsed him.

As the report notes, Republicans tolerated Cawthorn's antics -- much like they have turned a blind eye to Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) -- until he stated in a podcast that conservatives in Washington D.C. engage in drug-fueled orgies and, since that time, he has been on the receiving end of embarrassing disclosures.

Some of the disclosures, the report notes, have reportedly come from former friends and allies in North Carolina who have soured on him.

Labeling the flood of embarrassing disclosures an "ever-worsening public relations trainwreck," as the May 17th primary approaches, the Beast report argues that "the sources of the coordinated stories seem clear: the attacks are coming from inside the house."

One longtime GOP operative in the state admitted, "It’s definitely a hit job that I’m happy to be a party to. Most of the GOP universe has come around to align against this guy. You’re seeing a full-court, state-based, establishment pushback against him. Get this guy out. Take him out. We’re gonna see if we can pull it off in eight days.”

According to the Beast, "... the reality is Cawthorn has spent the last year making enemies, from Capitol Hill to the corner of North Carolina that he represents. The congressman’s string of unforced errors -- from the coke-and-orgy comments to disparaging Ukraine’s president as a 'thug' -- merely helped to consolidate a powerful coalition of longtime foes and former friends."

David Wheeler, a North Carolina Democrat who runs the Fire Madison PAC, stated he and his partner have been happy to be the conduit for the attacks by Republicans on Cawthorn.

“Obviously, we have a target, we’re not afraid to take him on and put out the information his opponents wouldn’t—or the Democrats wouldn’t," he said with the Beast report adding, "That included a video last week, released with many disclaimers and caveats, showing a naked Cawthorn mounting another man in bed... seemingly as a joke, but bizarre nonetheless. Cawthorn did not deny the video was authentic, but he dismissed it as horseplay, and said his foes were trying to 'blackmail' him by publishing it."

"People think we’re under Kevin McCarthy’s finger, and that he’s telling us what to do because he wants to get back at Madison,” Wheeler claimed. "It’s not folks out of Washington that are sending this stuff. It’s folks who used to work with him, who were his supporters.”

You can read more here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-the-relentless-campaign-to-ruin-madison-cawthorn?ref=home

[Rick Plant]

Some Republican states set to ban abortion without exceptions for rape and incest

As states across the country prepare for the likely overturning of Roe v. Wade in June, attention has shifted to the forthcoming efforts to outlaw abortion in Republican-controlled states. And, despite the unpopularity of such measures, it seems that many red states are planning to ban abortion without any exceptions for rape or incest.

Of the 22 states with abortion bans that will instantly take effect if the landmark Supreme Court ruling is overturned, 10 have passed laws that make no exceptions for rape or incest: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

The majority of these measures were passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures, suggesting that the issue may become an albatross for the party. When Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, he falsely asserted that his state’s abortion ban has an exception for rape and incest. When host Chuck Todd noted that it doesn’t, Reeves avoided taking a position on whether such an exception should be added to the law.

“That decision was made by the Mississippi Legislature, and I think there is certainly a conversation,” Reeves said. “We’ll see what happens based upon the ultimate outcome of the Dobbs case that is before the Supreme Court.”

Republican senators, meanwhile, are mostly ducking the question when asked. “You’re asking me a hypothetical question,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters, according to Insider. “Come back and see me after the Supreme Court rules.”

“I’m not projecting ahead,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the only woman in the Republican Senate leadership. “We need to go through the process with the Supreme Court.”

Most of the American public supports legal abortion in general, and banning abortion without exceptions is especially unpopular — even among Republicans.

The latest Yahoo News/YouGov poll, which was conducted from May 3 to May 6, found that 31% of U.S. adults want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. The 1973 Supreme Court ruling established a constitutional right to an abortion in the early months of pregnancy. A draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, written by Justice Samuel Alito and leaked to Politico last week, would remove that protection, paving the way for states or the federal government to outlaw abortion.

The Yahoo News/YouGov poll also found that only 22% of Americans support a national ban on abortion — which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said last Thursday may be passed if the GOP takes control of Congress — versus 48% who would support a federal law protecting abortion rights.

But the unpopularity of an abortion ban without exceptions is even starker: 71% said abortion in cases of rape or incest should be “generally legal,” while just 15% said it should be “generally illegal.” Eighty percent of Democrats, 60% of Republicans and 74% of independents said abortion should be legal in cases of rape or incest. Only 25% of Republicans said abortion should be illegal in cases of rape or incest. Eighty-eight percent of people who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 said it should be legal, as did 61% of those who voted for former President Donald Trump.

Other polls have found similar results. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in March found that just 8% of American adults think abortion should be illegal with no exceptions, whereas 29% said it should be illegal but with exceptions.

For the last four decades, most Republican elected officials have been broadly anti-abortion, but the lack of exceptions is a newer phenomenon. While every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has favored exceptions for rape and incest, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the National Republican Senate Committee, recently declined to comment to Insider on whether he will support such exceptions after Roe is overturned.

Not all Republican politicians are as reticent: In Pennsylvania, the frontrunner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, favors outlawing all abortions without exceptions.

“Something has changed, at least in Arkansas, and I perceive nationwide,” Arkansas state Sen. Jim Hendren, who left the GOP and became an independent after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, recently told the Guardian. Hendren identifies as a “pro-life” legislator, but he voted “present” on Arkansas’s blanket abortion ban after determining that an amendment he drafted creating exceptions for rape and incest would not have the support to pass.

"The fact is, it’s a different ethical dilemma when you’re talking about a 10-year-old girl who is a rape victim being responsible for the actions of a criminal, versus someone who is responsible for their own actions,” Hendren said. He added that some of his Republican colleagues privately told him they agreed with his proposal but feared being branded as pro-abortion by a primary opponent.

Despite the unpopularity of no-exception abortion bans, even among Republican voters, the legislators responsible for such laws have not faced repercussions at the ballot box.

“We’ve seen state legislatures adopt restriction after restriction and ban after ban, and these legislators remain in power,” Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst at the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion-rights think tank, told the Atlantic. “It doesn’t feel like there are any consequences for them.”

Under Roe, these laws were essentially symbolic. Once they take effect, the public may react. According to the Yahoo News/YouGov poll, Democrats led Republicans by 5 percentage points when survey respondents were asked which party they will vote for in the upcoming congressional elections, but the Democrats’ advantage widened to 13 points when the question was framed as a “pro-choice Democrat” versus a “pro-life Republican.”

Abortion rights advocates, meanwhile, argue that legal exceptions for rape and incest do not actually protect all victims of rape, as they typically require rape survivors to file a police report, which most rape victims — often feeling shame or fearing being ostracized — fail to do. (The Associated Press recently reported that just one-third of sexual assaults are reported to police, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.)

Idaho and Utah both have abortion bans with exceptions for rape or incest on the books, but they require the pregnant woman to have filed a police report and shown it to the abortion provider before getting the procedure.

Nash of the Guttmacher Institute told the AP last week that of 86 proposed state-level abortion restrictions this year, only a few include rape and incest exceptions.

"You might think these exceptions are helpful,” Nash said. “But in fact they’re so restricted, they’re very hard to use.”

https://news.yahoo.com/some-republican-states-set-to-ban-abortion-without-exceptions-for-rape-and-incest-204305491.html

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

This afternoon, I signed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 into law. This bill provides another important tool in our efforts to support Ukraine and its people in their fight to defend their country and democracy against Putin’s brutal war.



https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1523796583120265217


Biden signs bill that aims to streamline U.S. military aid to Ukraine

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bill Monday that will streamline the lengthy process of supplying Ukraine with the military equipment needed for the fight against Russia.

“I’m signing a bill that provides another important tool that directly supports the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and their fight to defend their country and their democracy against Putin’s brutal war,” Biden said from the Oval Office.

“The cost of the fight is not cheap, but caving to aggression is even more costly,” Biden added.

Biden’s signature on the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 will make it easier for the U.S. to lend or lease military aid to allies affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden already has some power to lend or lease equipment, but the legislation he will sign into law will ease some of the requirements for doing so.

Under the measure, Ukraine can request streamlined transfers of U.S. weapons and other security assistance. The U.S. will get guarantees that the country will replace or reimburse the assets at a later date.

Monday’s legislation evokes the “Lend-Lease Act,” through which the U.S. supported allies, including the Soviet Union, during World War II.

On Friday, the Biden administration announced a new weapons package for Ukraine worth $150 million.

The latest military aid package, the ninth security assistance installment, brings the U.S. military aid commitment to $3.8 billion since Moscow invaded its neighbor in late February.

The $150 million pledged on Friday comes from the remaining $250 million in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the president to transfer excess weapons from U.S. arsenals without congressional approval.

Last month, Biden requested $33 billion from Congress after he exhausted his remaining drawdown authority. He reiterated his request on Friday.

He said that for Ukraine to succeed against Russia, the U.S. and its allies must continue to move weapons and ammunition into the country.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/09/biden-signs-ukraine-lend-lease-military-aid-bill-amid-russia-invasion.html

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

Today, we’re launching a program that allows millions of American families to get high-speed internet for free. To learn if you qualify, head to http://GetInternet.gov.

Watch: https://twitter.com/i/status/1523775142039597060

More than 30 million Americans live in places where speeds are too slow or where there is no broadband infrastructure at all.

Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re delivering high-speed internet infrastructure to every part of this country.

High-speed internet is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.

But today, too many families simply can’t afford it.

That’s why in November, when we passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we created something called the Affordable Connectivity Program. Here’s how it works.

If your household income is twice the federal poverty level or less — or if a member of your household is on Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, or a number of other programs, you’re eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program.

Nearly 40% of American households qualify.

Families who are eligible can select a plan from a participating provider and receive high-speed internet at no cost in most cases.

To find out if you’re eligible and enroll in the program, call 877-384-2575 or head to http://GetInternet.gov.

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1523735716194357250

[Rick Plant]

Is DeSantis “scared” to state his stance on an all-out abortion ban?



During a virtual press conference on looming threats to abortion access, Orlando Democrat Rep. Anna Eskamani said Gov. Ron DeSantis is “scared” to indicate whether he would support an all-out abortion ban if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade case.

“I wouldn’t say we’re fearful, we don’t operate in a place of fear. We operate on a place of endurance and resilience. We absolutely expect there to be an all-out ban on abortions, whether it’s going to be during a special session, or in the general regular session. Now I will say that Governor Ron DeSantis is scared,” Eskamani said during questions Tuesday at the virtual press conference hosted by the Florida Democratic Party.

She added:

“It’s clear to me that Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, are super awkward and uncomfortable talking about an all-out ban. They want to avoid it as much as possible, because they know the second they commit to it, it will wake up voters across the state of Florida and that is not what they want to do before a November election year.”

Eskamani has previously worked at a Planned Parenthood organization, including in Central Florida.

DeSantis’ spokesperson, Christina Pushaw said, “We are not going to respond to Rep. Eskamani’s comments.”

This is not the first time that reporters have asked about DeSantis’ stance on the potential for overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade case. But DeSantis has not answered questions directly on the issue.

However, he has focused on the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion indicating that the high court will overturn the right for pregnant people to access abortions. And DeSantis has said he is awaiting the final ruling connected to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 15-week abortion ban in Mississippi.

DeSantis is considered a potential presidential contender and is currently running for reelection in the gubernatorial race this year.

He recently signed legislation that implements a ban on abortions after 15-weeks of pregnancy, starting July 1.

Eskamani continued during the press conference:

“The fact that he tip-toes around it and pivots to other issues – every time he’s asked about abortion, he pivots to other issues. I mean, that’s not a coincidence, that’s a tactic, because he’s trying to avoid talking about (an) all-out ban so that he doesn’t alarm voters on where he actually stands.”

“But we need people to know that if he’s reelected, next on deck will be an abortion ban — an all-out abortion ban in Florida,” she said.

State Sen. Lauren Book, the Democratic Leader in the Senate, said that Eskamani was “100 percent spot-on” when it comes to the November election and a potential all-out abortion ban.

https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/is-desantis-scared-to-state-his-stance-on-an-all-out-abortion-ban/

[Rick Plant]

Trump candidate loses Nebraska GOP primary



WASHINGTON – Charles Herbster, a Donald Trump-endorsed businessman who has been repeatedly accused of se*ual misconduct, lost his bid to be the GOP's nominee for Nebraska governor in the state's Republican primary on Tuesday.

University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen was the winner of the gubernatorial primary, according to the Associated Press, just ahead of Herbster and state senator Brett Lindstrom.

Herbster could not overcome the many misconduct allegations lodged against him, despite his denials.

Eight women, including a state senator, told the Nebraska Examiner during the campaign that Herbster had groped, forcibly kissed or improperly touched them at public events over the past six years.

Trump's candidates have fared well in 2022 Republican primaries, but the Nebraska governor's race proved that the ex-president's endorsement is not an automatic ticket to victory.

Pillen, who is also a veterinarian and a pig farmer, enjoyed the support of more establishment Republicans in Nebraska, including current Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Pillen adapted a familiar Trump phrase in thanking his supporters. "Tonight, we will celebrate a great victory," the new nominee said in a speech Tuesday night. "Tomorrow, it's back to work in the fight to keep Nebraska great."

Speaking with his supporters, Herbster called the race "one of the nastiest campaigns" in Nebraska history, and that may have played a role in his defeat. Herbster also said he spoke to Pillen and conceded the contest.

Herbster was one of at least nine candidates nationwide facing accusations of a se*ual nature.

The list includes former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican seeking a U.S. Senate seat, and former football star Herschel Walker, a GOP member running for the U.S. Senate from Georgia. Trump has endorsed Walker.

Will voters care?: At least 9 midterm candidates face misconduct or abuse allegations

Trump, who has been repeatedly accused of se*ual assault himself, re-doubled his support for Herbster in the wake of the allegations. He told a crowd at a rally in Nebraska that "I have to defend my friends... These are malicious charges to derail him long enough that the election can go by before the proper defense can be put forward."

The Republican nominee for Nebraska governor will be favored in the fall election against Carol Blood, a state senator who won the Democratic primary in this GOP-leaning state.

Trump endorsed Herbster back in October, but several Republicans in Nebraska did not follow suit.

In addition to Ricketts, Pillen had the had the support of the Nebraska Farm Bureau. The former Nebraska football player also had the endorsement of former congressman and Cornhuskers coach Tom Osborne.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/10/nebraska-primary-results/9710268002/