Розділ: Політика
US-Taliban Deal Hits First Speedbump
Less than 24 hours after the United States signed a landmark deal with the Taliban to pave the way for peace in Afghanistan, its implementation has already hit the first speedbump. VOA’s Ayesha Tanzeem is in Doha following up on the developments. Here’s her report
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By Polityk | 03/02/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democrats Reenact 1965 ‘Bloody Sunday’ March
Democratic presidential candidates were in Selma, Alabama, Sunday — a place where African Americans once risked their lives simply by demanding the right to vote.The Democrats were among those marking the 55th anniversary of what’s known as Bloody Sunday, where police beat and tear-gassed civil rights marchers as they tried to cross a bridge to walk from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery.Fresh off his big win in Saturday’s South Carolina primary, which he won with the support of African American voters, former Vice President Joe Biden spoke to worshippers at Selma’s Brown Chapel AME Church.Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg speaks at the North Carolina Democratic Party’s Blue NC Celebration, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C.”Dr. King understood that the right to vote was only the first step in the march to true equality, because true equality means that wealth in this country should have no relation to race or ethnicity,” the ex-mayor said.Other Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, joined the thousands who marched across the Edmund Pettis Bridge Sunday, where they would have been beaten and tear gassed if they had tried to do it March 7, 1965.The candidates were overshadowed by congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, who was among those whose attempt to cross the bridge 55 years ago ended with a policeman’s club to his skull.There was doubt whether Lewis would attend. He is battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. But he said he wanted to be part of the anniversary despite his serious illness and reflect.”I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and some way, God almighty helped me here. … I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to give in. We’re going to continue to fight,” Lewis said, calling the vote “a nonviolent instrument to redeem the soul of America.”We must go out and vote like we never ever voted before,” he said.Millions of Americans were sickened and horrified watching television pictures of police beating peaceful marchers in 1965.King led a second march two days later that ended peacefully. But more than 20,000 civil rights supporters, including hundreds of clergymen and women from around the country, came to Selma for a third march that made it all the way to Montgomery.The Selma marches was one of the events that led to congressional passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
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By Polityk | 03/02/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Judge Rules Cuccinelli Unlawfully Chosen as USCIS Acting Director
A U.S. federal judge on Sunday ruled that Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was unlawfully selected as acting director. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said Cuccinelli was not legally the first assistant to the director of USCIS under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA) and could not be named acting director.“…The ‘first assistant’ to the vacant office automatically serves as the acting official when a vacancy arises.”BREAKING: Federal judge declares that @HomelandKen was unlawfully installed as Acting Director of @USCIS. Policies he authorized are void. pic.twitter.com/Nb2Q7gBLlD— Bradley Jenkins (@bradkjenkins) March 1, 2020According to court documents, on June 1, 2019, Lee Francis Cissna, the then Senate-confirmed director of USCIS, resigned and according to FVRA his “first assistant,” then Deputy Director Mark Koumans, was expected to automatically assume the post of acting director.Nine days after Cissna’s resignation, the then acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kevin McAleenan, appointed Cuccinelli “to serve as the principal deputy director of USCIS” — a position that court documents say did not exist before Cuccinelli’s appointment.McAleenan revised USCIS’s order of succession, designating the newly created position of principal deputy director as “the first assistant and most senior successor to the director of USCIS.”These two changes, documents show, took place after Cissna’s resignation, and allowed Cuccinelli to jump over Koumans to become USCIS acting director.Acting Secretary McAleenan specified that Cuccinelli’s appointment as principal deputy director was to remain in effect until the appointment of a director of USCIS by the president of the United States, or “the express revocation of this appointment.”McAleenan then said the revised order of succession would “terminate automatically” upon the appointment of a new director of USCIS by President Donald Trump.”In other words, as soon as the vacant office is filled, “the status quo will be restored,” court documents show.VOA sent USCIS a request for comment but has not received a response.
Cuccinelli, a conservative lawmaker known for his hard-line immigration views, is a former Virginia attorney general. Trump asked him to lead the agency that is tasked with administering the nation’s legal immigration system.Cuccinelli Named Acting US Immigration ChiefFormer Virginia attorney general, known for his hardline immigration views, to lead agency that is tasked with administering the nation’s legal immigration systemUSCIS is an agency of 19,000 employees and contractors.Cuccinelli also serves as U.S. Homeland Security Department deputy secretary.
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Wins South Carolina Primary
Former Vice President Joe Biden has won the South Carolina primary, a key preference vote in the race for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Biden says he can forge a national coalition to beat President Donald Trump, but he faces tough contests in 14 states this week on Super Tuesday. Mike O’Sullivan reports, the race is tightening after businessman Tom Steyer withdrew late Saturday.
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden, Sanders Squaring Off in Next Democratic Presidential Voting
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the easy winner of the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary, faces an immediate new challenge from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders when 14 states vote Tuesday in party contests across the country.Biden, in three runs for the presidency, had never won a state primary nominating election until Saturday. But pre-election surveys show that Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, is handily leading in California, where the most delegates to the party’s mid-summer national presidential nominating convention are at stake in the next round of voting. The polling shows Biden ahead in seven of the states with Tuesday contests, Sanders in six and Sen. Amy Klobuchar in the lead in her home state of Minnesota.”It’s going to be very hard to make up ground in California,” Biden acknowledged Sunday on ABC News’s “This Week.” But he said, “I feel very good where it’s going” in other states, adding that he’s “not even certain” that he will be trailing Sanders in the overall convention delegate count after the Tuesday voting.Biden declared that he can beat Republican President Donald Trump in November’s national election and “bring along [Democratic] candidates and win the Senate” that is now controlled by Republicans.A third of the pledged delegates to the July convention in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are at stake in the Tuesday voting, when former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s name will appear on the ballots for the first time.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event, Feb. 28, 2020, in Columbia, S.C.Sanders said on ABC that Biden “did well” in South Carolina. “We’ll see what happens Tuesday, but we have an excellent chance to win some of the largest states,” he said.Some national Democratic figures have voiced concern that Sanders, who has called for a government-run national health care system and an end to the private insurance plans now used by most Americans to help pay their medical bills, would turn off voters with his left-wing political views and lead to Trump’s re-election to a second White House term.Sanders called Biden “a decent guy” and said that both of them of would support the eventual Democratic nominee against Trump. But Sanders said that he, and not Biden, would bring new voters to the Democratic party to defeat Trump, whom he called “a fraud, a liar who has undermined the democratic process” in Washington.The mounting count of delegates to the national party convention is all important. The state-by-state Democratic primary contests award national convention representation based on the vote counts in the primary elections and caucuses, but candidates only win any delegates if they reach a 15% threshold in a given state.Current projections show Sanders possibly reaching the national convention with a plurality of the delegate votes, but not a majority on the first ballot.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., meets with attendees campaign event, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Spartanburg, S.C.Sanders has argued that if he is close to a majority, the other Democratic candidates should unite behind his candidacy, while Biden and other presidential aspirants have contended that the convention should then move to a second ballot where superdelegates (mostly party officials and elected Democratic officials) would be allowed to vote, allowing them to possibly deny Sanders the nomination.Bloomberg, whose business information company has made him the 12th richest person in the world, has spent upwards of $400 million of his own money on his campaign. But by choice he skipped the voting in the first four primary contests.Polling shows Bloomberg has some support for the Democratic presidential nomination race heading into the Tuesday voting, but often trailing both Sanders and Biden.Other contenders are also looking for a breakthrough in the new contests, including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Klobuchar, all of whom have had key moments in the spotlight during a lengthy run of debates among the Democratic challengers. But current polling shows none of the three would reach the Milwaukee convention among the leaders in the count of pledged delegates.In the South Carolina vote, Biden won nearly 50% of the vote. Sanders was in a distant second place, with 19%. Tom Steyer, a billionaire and philanthropist who has invested substantial time and money campaigning in South Carolina, was in third place, with 11% of the vote, but after the result became known, ended his campaign.Biden Wins Overwhelmingly in South Carolina, Gains Momentum for Super TuesdayBiden gets strong support from black voters as well as moderatesTrump congratulated Biden after the South Carolina vote, but disparaged Steyer and Bloomberg’s candidacies.”Tom Steyer who, other than Mini Mike Bloomberg, spent more dollars for NOTHING than any candidate in history, quit the race today proclaiming how thrilled he was to be a part of the the Democrat Clown Show. Go away Tom and save whatever little money you have left,” Trump said on Twitter.Tom Steyer who, other than Mini Mike Bloomberg, spent more dollars for NOTHING than any candidate in history, quit the race today proclaiming how thrilled he was to be a part of the the Democrat Clown Show. Go away Tom and save whatever little money you have left!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020Trump added, “I would find it hard to believe that failed presidential candidates Tom Steyer, or Mini Mike Bloombeg, would contribute to the Democrat Party, even against me, after the way they have been treated – laughed at & mocked. The real politicians ate them up and spit them out!”I would find it hard to believe that failed presidential candidates Tom Steyer, or Mini Mike Bloombeg, would contribute to the Democrat Party, even against me, after the way they have been treated – laughed at & mocked. The real politicians ate them up and spit them out!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2020
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Takeaways from the South Carolina Primary: Joementum
South Carolina provided Joe Biden with a lifeline he desperately needed, propelled by the power of the black vote, but his victory does not necessarily provide clarity to the race.Both Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar finished well behind Biden, but they are still planning to compete in Super Tuesday states. They could draw just enough of the vote to deny Biden the numbers he needs to make the case for a one-on-one competition with Sen. Bernie Sanders.And if they don’t, the larger question for Biden is how he fares against Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor, who has spent more than $500 million and will be on the ballot for the first time Tuesday.Other takeaways from the South Carolina primary:Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden talks to Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., at a primary night election rally in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 29, 2020 after winning the South Carolina primary.Biden must broaden his appealThe win in South Carolina was the first primary victory for Biden in his three presidential campaigns. Super Tuesday will prove whether it signals a resurgence, where party leaders try to coalesce around him, or a mirage. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe endorsed Biden after Saturday’s results.Biden demonstrated his oft-stated appeal to black voters, who historically play a decisive role in determining the Democratic nominee. Now he will have to show that he can broaden that appeal to college-educated suburban women who have been the fulcrum for Democrats in recent elections.The former vice president has still got a long way to go.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, with his wife, Jane, speaks during a campaign event in San Antonio, Feb. 22, 2020.Sanders hopes second is a blipFor one brief moment after his commanding Nevada win, Sanders thought he could win South Carolina.Instead, he showed the limits of his progressive appeal in the South. But you can win the Democratic nomination without winning the South, and Sanders wants to show how on Super Tuesday. He has a commanding lead in polls for the biggest prize on the map, California, and is competitive in every state.Sanders’ schedule shows his confidence — he has campaigned in Massachusetts and will travel to Minnesota on Sunday and Monday, trying to win the home states of rivals Warren and Klobuchar.But he won’t be getting a pass, especially from Bloomberg, who has argued that Sanders’ democratic socialism is a loser for Democrats in November.While Biden is hoping South Carolina puts wind in his sails, Sanders just has to hope the current breeze keeps blowing.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., greets supporters during a rally, Feb. 29, 2020, in Richmond, Va.Check, please?At some point in the nominating process, they stop handing out participation trophies. Klobuchar, Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have yet to prove they can win with diverse coalitions of the Democratic Party.Now all three will be under varying degrees of pressure to consider dropping out. Among the three, Warren has the most money and organization, but not necessarily the better rationale for staying in the race given the strength of Sanders, the leading progressive.None of the three has shown any notable appeal to African American voters, and they do not have the time or the resources to focus their campaigns more narrowly with an eye on just winning some delegates to maintain leverage.Will Bloomberg’s money equal results?A few hours before polls closed in South Carolina, Bloomberg announced he was buying three-minute ads on two television networks Sunday night. And that will follow an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes.”Bloomberg hasn’t been a factor yet in the early states — he sat them out in favor of an audacious strategy that he could fill the moderate lane if Biden faltered, by spending hundreds of millions on ads in Super Tuesday states.Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg speaks at the North Carolina Democratic Party’s Blue NC Celebration, Feb. 29, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C.It’s a theory of the case that’s never happened at this level of presidential politics. And it is about to be tested. If Bloomberg doesn’t prevail and merely fragments the moderate vote, that will be to Sanders’ benefit.At the same time, Bloomberg has to try to recover from his disastrous debut on the debate stage in Las Vegas and a second, still rough, session at the South Carolina debate last Tuesday. The Biden resurgence may drown out his hoped-for position as the most sensible alternative to Sanders.
With one voice, for onceFor once, self-described moderate and conservative Democrats spoke with something resembling a unified voice. This group has consistently been the majority of voters in previous contests, only to dilute their vote by splitting it among candidates.But in South Carolina, preliminary results from AP VoteCast found a solid share of moderate and conservative voters — more than half — went for Biden. No more than 1 in 10 backed Buttigieg or Klobuchar.Still, the survey also hints at the possibility of Sanders, who has dominated among liberals, having some crossover appeal. Among moderates and conservatives, 14% voted for the self-described socialist.
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Getting Rid of ‘Bad’ People Made Him Successful, Trump Tells Conservatives
President Donald Trump said Saturday that his “journey” in the nation’s highest office would have been a failure had he not be able to rid the government of people he says are “bad.” Trump came into office railing against what he and his allies call the “deep state” — career government employees and political appointees held over from prior administrations — claiming it was out to undermine him. He said he has been replacing them with “people who love our country.” “We have such bad people and they’re not people who love our country,” Trump told several thousand cheering and chanting supporters at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. “We’re getting people who really love our country, and it’s so important. “And if I wasn’t able to fulfill that, no matter what other things we’ve done, I would not consider this journey to be a success,” he said. “So just remember that.” Trump didn’t call anyone out by name in his remarks, but he has spoken negatively about the previous FBI leaders during other public appearances. Since being acquitted on two articles of impeachment and being allowed to stay in office, he has reassigned individuals who testified against him during the proceedings or whom he perceives as disloyal to him. He also has brought back to the White House trusted aides who had departed earlier in the administration. Hot topicsThe Republican president, who is seeking reelection, sought to fire up his audience during the wide-ranging, nearly 90-minute speech with talk against state and local policies that shield undocumented immigrants, the number of conservative federal judges who’ve been confirmed by the Senate, his increased spending on the U.S. military and creation of a new branch of the military known as the Space Force. Trump also touched on an agreement signed Saturday between the U.S. and the Taliban aimed at ending war in Afghanistan, and he pledged to protect the health and safety of Americans “with vigor” amid an outbreak of coronavirus, which overnight had claimed its first victim in the U.S. Trump flew to a Maryland hotel to address the annual gathering of conservatives after he called a news conference at the White House to announce a ban on travel to Iran in response to the virus outbreak. He also announced elevated U.S. travel warnings to affected regions of Italy and South Korea. The president closed with a promise to his fawning supporters to “be here next year, OK?” In a reprise of his appearance at last year’s conservative conference, Trump then hugged and kissed an American flag before he left the stage.
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s Viral Spin on Virus; Dem Oversteps
President Donald Trump has not proved to be the bearer of reliable information when calamity threatens and people want straight answers about it. That’s happening again as he addresses the prospect of a coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
With numbers still low, but the first death in the U.S. now reported, the infectious disease risks not only public health but the economy he holds up to voters for his reelection. To date, his comments have largely seemed intended to put a positive spin on hard information from the scientists, as if he were wishing the problem away.
Trump’s comment Friday night, characterizing Democratic criticism of the administration’s response to the virus as a “hoax,” lent weight to the perception that he’s minimizing the potential for harm in search of political gain. He emphasized Saturday that he does not consider the coronavirus threat a hoax – only the pushback from Democrats.
Trump has a record of unreliability on this front. In one hurricane episode, he displayed a map doctored to reflect his personal and ill-founded theory that Alabama would take it on the chin. In another, he dismissed the Puerto Rico death toll as a concoction by Democrats.
He was fast off the mark to describe the injuries suffered by U.S. service members from an Iranian missile attack as little more than headaches, when it turned out scores suffered traumatic brain injury.
For their part, Democrats have been quick to criticize the Trump administration – at times too quick. Several presidential candidates described the federal response as hampered by Trump budget cuts, which have not happened, and by a decimated public-health bureaucracy, despite the top-of-class scientists steering the effort.Here are the facts behind some of the political rhetoric of the past week, on the virus and more.Virus Outbreak TRUMP: “We are rapidly developing a vaccine. … The vaccine is coming along well, and in speaking to the doctors, we think this is something that we can develop very rapidly.” – news conference Wednesday.THE FACTS: No vaccine is imminent for the coronavirus.
A candidate vaccine for the virus causing COVID-19 is approaching first-step safety tests, but federal experts say anything widely usable is probably more than a year away.
“We can’t rely on a vaccine over the next several months,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease chief at the National Institutes of Health.
—TRUMP: “The level of death with Ebola – you know, at the time, it was a virtual 100%. … There’s a very good chance you’re not going to die. It’s very much the opposite. You’re talking about 1 or 2%, whereas in the other case, it was a virtual 100%. Now they have it; they have studied it. They know very much. In fact, we’re very close to a vaccine.” _ news conference Tuesday in New Delhi.THE FACTS: “Close” is not correct. A vaccine has already been developed for Ebola. The FDA approved an Ebola vaccine in December. Even before its U.S. approval, it was being used in Congo to help stem the current outbreak.
___TRUMP, on U.S. coronavirus cases: “We’re going down, not up. We’re going very substantially down, not up.” – news conference Wednesday.THE FACTS: That was false assurance. He was referring to the fact that most of the people he cited as having COVID-19 in the U.S. are getting better. But that is not indicative of the spread or containment of the disease since most victims, by far, recover.
Cases in the U.S. are almost certain to increase, his own officials have said repeatedly, and he acknowledged as much Saturday.
___TRUMP: “The flu in our country kills from 25,000 people to 69,000 people a year; that was shocking to me. And so far, if you look at what we have with the 15 people, and they are recovering.”THE FACTS: His remarks on the coronavirus risks are misleading. Scientists don’t know enough about how deadly the new virus actually is, and so far it hasn’t infected nearly as many people as the flu. Of the cases cited by Trump, they are not “all recovering.” One died and four others are “very ill,” he said Saturday.
Flu deaths fluctuate depending on which strain is circulating and how well each year’s vaccine is working, but Trump’s cited range is in the ballpark. Two flu seasons ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated there were 80,000 U.S. deaths, the highest death toll in at least four decades. This year’s flu season isn’t as deadly; so far this season, the CDC estimates there have been 16,000 to 41,000 deaths from the flu.
As to COVID-19, an illness characterized by fever and coughing and in serious cases shortness of breath or pneumonia, there are now at least 60 cases in the U.S., with no deaths reported. In addition to the ones Trump cited, 45 were among groups the U.S. government evacuated and quarantined either from China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
In the hardest-hit part of China, the death rate from the new coronavirus was between 2% and 4%, while in other parts of China it was 0.7%. In contrast, the death rate from seasonal flu on average is about 0.1%, said Fauci, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. That’s far lower than what has been calculated so far for COVID-19. But millions of people get the flu every year around the world, leading to a global annual death toll in the hundreds of thousands.
___MIKE BLOOMBERG: “There’s nobody here to figure out what the hell we should be doing. And he’s defunded _ he’s defunded Centers for Disease Control, CDC, so we don’t have the organization we need. This is a very serious thing.” _ Democratic presidential debate Tuesday.JOE BIDEN, comparing the Obama-Biden administration with now: “We increased the budget of the CDC. We increased the NIH budget. … He’s wiped all that out. … He cut the funding for the entire effort.”THE FACTS: They’re both wrong to say the agencies have seen their money cut. Bloomberg is repeating the false allegation in a new ad that states the U.S. is unprepared for the virus because of “reckless cuts” to the CDC. Trump’s budgets have proposed cuts to public health, only to be overruled by Congress, where there’s strong bipartisan support for agencies such as the CDC and NIH. Instead, financing has increased.
Indeed, the money that government disease detectives first tapped to fight the latest outbreak was a congressional fund created for health emergencies.|
Some public health experts say a bigger concern than White House budgets is the steady erosion of a CDC grant program for state and local public health emergency preparedness – the front lines in detecting and battling new disease. But that decline was set in motion by a congressional budget measure that predates Trump.
The broader point about there being “nobody here” to coordinate the response sells short what’s in place to handle an outbreak.
The public health system has a playbook to follow for pandemic preparation – regardless of who’s president or whether specific instructions are coming from the White House. Public-health experts outside government have praised the CDC’s work so far and noted that its top scientific ranks have remained stable during the past three years.
___Health Care BERNIE SANDERS: “What every study out there – conservative or progressive – says, Medicare for All' will save money.`` - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: Not true. Some studies say that, some don't.“kill it” remark as a joke. Her complaint was eventually settled as part of a lawsuit with no admission of guilt, and she resigned from the company.
Sanders, a Vermont senator, cites a recent medical journal article in The Lancet, which estimated ``Medicare for All'' would save more than $450 billion annually, or about 13%.
But other studies have found a Sanders-like single-payer plan would cost more, partly because free health care would increase the demand for services.
A study last fall from the Commonwealth Fund and the Urban Institute estimated that such a plan would increase national health spending by about $720 billion. A Rand study estimated spending would increase 1.8% under a national single-payer plan.
___Gun Control JOE BIDEN: "A hundred and fifty million people have been killed since 2007, when Bernie voted to exempt the gun manufacturers from liability.'' - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: Biden vastly overstated gun deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 413,000 gun deaths from 2007 to 2018, a far cry from 150 million, which equates to close to half the U.S. population. More than half of the gun deaths in 2018 were from suicide, says the CDC. His campaign acknowledged he misspoke.
___AMY KLOBUCHAR: "I am the author of the bill to close the boyfriend loophole that says that domestic abusers can't go out and get an AK-47.''
BIDEN: ``I wrote that law.''
KLOBUCHAR: "You didn't write that bill, I wrote that bill.''
BIDEN: "I wrote the bill, the Violence Against Women Act, that took (guns) out of the hands of people who abused their wife.''
KLOUBCHAR: "OK we'll have a fact check look at this." - Democratic debate.
BIDEN: "No, let's look at the fact check. The only thing (is) that that boyfriend loophole was not covered, I couldn't get that covered. You, in fact, as a senator tried to get it covered and Mitch McConnell is holding it up on his desk right now.''THE FACTS: Klobuchar, a Minnesota senator, correctly called out the former vice president for seeming to take credit for legislation closing the "boyfriend loophole.'' Biden conceded the point, then correctly pointed out that the loophole has not been eliminated in law.
In short, Biden did write the legislation that became the Violence Against Women Act, one of his most prominent achievements. The 1994 law sets out services and specific protections for victims of domestic violence.
Klobuchar took the lead in the Senate on legislation passed by the House that would extend the law's protections to help women who are threatened by abusive partners who are not a spouse, ex-spouse or parent of a common child _ in other words, boyfriends or dating partners. But that effort, opposed by the National Rifle Association, has been hung up in the Senate.
___Women in the Workplace
BLOOMBERG, responding to Elizabeth Warren's demand that he lift non-disclosure agreements for all women who signed them: "We are doing that, senator.'' - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: He hasn't done that.
Bloomberg agreed to release three women from non-disclosure agreements in situations where they specifically identified an issue with him. But many more former Bloomberg employees have signed such agreements, having to do with the culture and work environment at his company. He hasn't freed them from their obligation to stay quiet about their complaints.
___
WARREN: "At least I didn't have a boss who said to me 'kill it' the way that Mayor Bloomberg is alleged to have said to one of his pregnant employees.''
BLOOMBERG: "I never said that.'' - Democratic debate.THE FACTS: The woman who made the allegation against Bloomberg recounted it in a legal filing.
Former Bloomberg employee Sekiko Sekai Garrison, 55, filed a complaint against Bloomberg and his company with the New York Division of Human Rights in 1995. In Garrison's written complaint, she recounted several personal interactions with Bloomberg when she worked at the company.
In one incident, Garrison said Bloomberg approached her near the office coffee machines and asked if she was still married, according to the complaint.
Garrison says she responded that her marriage was great and that she was pregnant with her first child, and alleged that Bloomberg replied: "Kill it.'' Bloomberg has denied that the exchange happened, but in her complaint, she transcribed a voicemail she says Bloomberg later left on her voicemail, apologizing and saying he meant the
___India
TRUMP: “Now, India has more people than any country, a little bit more than China.“ – news conference Tuesday in New Delhi.THE FACTS: He’s getting ahead of population projections.
India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country around 2027, according to the U.N.’s World Population Prospects report.
___
TRUMP, on India’s leader, Narendra Modi: “Under Prime Minister Modi, for the first time in history, every village in India now has access to electricity.” – rally Monday in Ahmedabad, India.THE FACTS: That’s false. The Indian government says a village is considered electrified if at least 10% of homes and public buildings have electricity. According to the World Bank, about 99 million people, or 7% of India’s population, still live in the dark.
___
TRUMP: “Six hundred million more people have access to basic sanitation.” – rally Monday.THE FACTS: It’s true that India has built more than 110 million new toilets since Modi’s government came to power in 2014, leading to increased access to basic sanitation. But implementation has been spotty in a country where venturing into the fields to defecate has been widespread and accepted.
More than 60% of India’s 1.3 billion people live in more than 600,000 villages. Poor villagers who couldn’t build toilets in their homes chose open fields, forests, ditches and other open spaces for defecation _ and that cultural practice has been slow to change.
2018 study conducted by the non-profit Research Institute for Compassionate Economics, for instance, found 44% of the rural population across four large states still defecate in the open. Nearly one-quarter of people in households with toilets also continued to defecate in the open, a figure unchanged from 2014, according to the study.
After becoming India’s prime minister, Modi promised to make India free of open defecation. He’s acknowledged the task is not over.
The World Bank previously said about 1 in every 10 deaths in India is linked to poor sanitation.
___China
BLOOMBERG, on China’s president, Xi Jinping: “In terms of whether he’s a dictator, he does serve at the behest of the Politburo, their group of people. There’s no question he has an enormous amount of power. But he does play to his constituency.” – Democratic debate.THE FACTS: He’s minimizing Xi’s broad powers in China.
Xi serves as the head of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee and is also head of state and leader of the party’s military wing, the People’s Liberation Army. The Politburo and its standing committee aren’t generally viewed as a check on his power. Although Xi’s moves to accumulate power have been criticized by some non-party intellectuals, he faces no clear rivals or constraints on his power.
However, a faltering economy and the knock-on effects of the coronavirus outbreak that originated in China are seen as placing him under greater pressure than he has previously faced.
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Sessions in Fight to Win Back His Senate Seat
To reclaim the Alabama Senate seat he held for 20 years, Jeff Sessions must first get through a competitive GOP primary with challengers eager to capitalize on his very public falling out with President Donald Trump. The former attorney general is banking on his long history in state politics as he tries to persuade Republican voters that he is the best candidate to advance Trump’s agenda. “I am the same Jeff Sessions that faithfully and honorably and vigorously defended Alabama values in the U.S. Senate before. I am determined to be even more effective when I return to the Senate if the people allow me to,” Sessions said in an interview. Sessions gave up the Senate seat when he was appointed Trump’s first attorney general, a position he was forced to resign from after his recusal from the Russia inquiry sparked blistering criticism from the president. Sessions had been the first senator to endorse Trump — donning a red Make America Great Again hat and infusing the 2016 campaign with Washington credibility. But in a twist of political irony, the president’s public scolding now threatens Sessions’ political comeback for a seat he held securely for two decades. No chanceAt a candidate forum in Florence, Alabama, that Sessions did not attend, retired restaurant owner Yara Ruther, 67, was shopping for someone else to support in the seven-person field. “He did not support Trump. That’s a deal breaker,” Ruther said, slicing her hand horizontally through the air to emphasize that she wouldn’t vote for Sessions this time. Sessions said Trump wasn’t happy about the recusal, but he did so because Department of Justice regulations required it. Still, Sessions has maintained his allegiance to the president. “Where were my opponents when Donald Trump was in a titanic, billion-dollar campaign for the presidency of the United States, where our court system was a stake, our taxes and regulations were all at stake?” Sessions said. “The people of Alabama rallied to Trump and I was leading the charge. And I haven’t changed,” he said. He’ll face former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, state Representative Arnold Mooney, businessman Stanley Adair and community activist Ruth Page Nelson in the Republican primary Tuesday. The winner will face Democratic Senator Doug Jones in November. U.S. Senate fliers for the Alabama seat rest on tabletops at a Jefferson County GOP candidate pancake breakfast, Feb. 29, 2020, in Birmingham, Ala.Sessions greeted diners over plates of chicken, dressing and fried okra during a Thursday campaign stop at the Blue Plate Cafe, a restaurant in Madison County. “I really believe in the experience he has and what he brings he to the table,” said Scott Woodard, a test manager at Redstone Arsenal, a mammoth facility that houses the Army’s missile programs. The Alabama race has turned into a bitter slugfest to claim a slot in the anticipated March 31 runoff between the top two GOP finishers. A runoff is required unless one candidate claims more than 50% of the primary vote Tuesday. It has also become a race to embrace Trump, with candidates jockeying to portray themselves as the most loyal to the president. Tuberville, harnessing the name recognition from years as a college football coach in the state, and Byrne, the first Republican to announce for the seat, have emerged as two of Sessions’ strongest challengers. “I’m a conservative. I’m a fighter. I vote with President Trump 97% of the time,” Byrne says on the campaign trail. Sessions ‘let the president down’A Byrne campaign television spot dismisses Sessions — portrayed in the ad by a diminutive actor clad in a baseball hat — as someone who “let the president down and got fired.” Tuberville — who has said Trump was sent by God to save the United States — issued this statement at the start of Trump’s impeachment trial: “As attorney general, Jeff Sessions handed the ball to the other team and walked off the field the moment play started getting rough.” Sessions’ campaign fired back at both in an ad. He noted that Byrne once called Trump unfit to lead the ticket after the 2016 release of Trump’s vulgar outtakes on “Access Hollywood” about grabbing women. He called Tuberville a “tourist” who moved from Florida to run for Senate.
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By Polityk | 03/01/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Faces Critical Test in South Carolina as Sanders Continues to Surge
Voters in South Carolina cast ballots Saturday in the Democratic primary, providing a dramatic run-up to next week’s crucial Super Tuesday marathon of 14 state primaries.The South Carolina contest offers a handful of candidates another opportunity to slow the surge of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in their quest to derail President Donald Trump’s reelection bid in the November general election.Former Vice President Joe Biden, the one-time front-runner who has stumbled badly in the first three primary and caucus contests, needs a win in South Carolina to sustain his campaign. Biden has struggled to raise money and spark enthusiasm among rank-and-file Democrats.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders rallies with supporters at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Feb. 27, 2020.Sanders, an independent senator and self-described democratic socialist, goes into South Carolina as the clear national front-runner after securing a close second-place finish in Iowa and victories in New Hampshire and Nevada.The South Carolina primary will provide the first substantial indication of how well candidates perform among African American voters, a critical Democratic constituency that makes up about 60% of the state’s Democratic electorate, and 27% of the state’s population.A number of states with considerable African American populations will hold primaries on Super Tuesday, when about one-third of all delegates for the Democratic National Convention in July are at stake.South Carolina voters will cast ballots for one of a number of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Also battling for the nomination are former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is again, by choice, absent from the ballot in South Carolina after also skipping the first three nominating contests.Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman, faces his first test on Super Tuesday.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopySouth Carolina holds an open primary that allows registered voters to cast ballots in the primary of their choice. The state Republican Party canceled its primary, ceding the contest to Trump. The cancellation has prompted some Republicans, who greatly outnumber Democrats in the state, to say they will vote for Sanders in the Democratic primary, believing he would be easier for Trump to defeat in November.There will be 54 pledged delegates at stake in South Carolina’s Democratic primary who will be proportionately divided among the candidates who exceed a 15% threshold of the total votes cast. An impressive showing in South Carolina could help build momentum going into Super Tuesday.
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By Polityk | 02/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Explainer: Super Tuesday
More states will hold primaries Tuesday, March 3, than on any other day in this election cycle. This is why it’s called Super Tuesday.
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By Polityk | 02/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Pompeo Jousts with Democrats at Hearing, First Since Impeachment
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration’s response to the spreading coronavirus and faced contentious questions from Democrats about an airstrike that killed Iran’s most powerful general.Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed frustration that the panel was afforded only two hours to question Pompeo, who until Friday had gone months without a public appearance on Capitol Hill.Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, recalled Pompeo’s “thundering” while in Congress about the need for testimony from one of his Democratic predecessors, Hillary Clinton.But, “for you, sir, we had to move heaven and earth to get you here for just two hours,” Meeks said.Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, asked sarcastically whether Pompeo would return to Congress next week to detail the steps the administration was taking against the coronavirus or whether he would again wait months for his next public appearance.Democratic committee chairman Rep. Eliot Engel of New York called it an “embarrassment” that the panel had been given such a short time to question Pompeo. The secretary said he had briefed Congress more than 70 times on Iran, rejecting allegations that he had not been accessible.The hearing was meant to focus on the Trump administration’s dealings with Iran and Iraq, but many of the questions centered on the coronavirus. Pompeo said he was confident that the administration had taken action to reduce the threat.The COVID-19 illness caused by a new coronavirus that emerged in December in the Chinese city of Wuhan has stretched well beyond Asia. The global count of those infected as of Friday exceeds 83,000, with China still by far the hardest-hit country. Dozens of cases but no deaths have been confirmed in the United States.Pompeo’s testimony comes three weeks after the conclusion of the Senate impeachment trial against President Donald Trump, who was accused of abusing his office by withholding aid from Ukraine while he was seeking an investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden. Trump, who denied doing anything wrong, was acquitted by the Republican-led Senate.The inquiry before House lawmakers featured the testimony of several foreign service officers, including some who’d been enlisted with trying to carry out the Republican president’s wishes and expressed concerns over it.Though Pompeo was not a central figure to the impeachment inquiry, he’s faced criticism for not doing more to stand up for a workforce that’s been attacked by the president – including Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who was ousted last spring after a push by the president’s allies.
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By Polityk | 02/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Deep Divide Between Progressives, Moderates in Democratic Primary
The U.S. Democratic Party finds itself at a crossroads at a critical time in the 2020 election cycle. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, is the clear front-runner for the party nomination despite warnings from moderate Democrats that Sanders would lead the party to defeat in November against President Donald Trump. At the core of the Democrat’s dilemma is a sharp divide between the party’s progressive wing and the moderates, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.
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By Polityk | 02/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Deep Divide Between Progressives, Moderates Colors Democratic Race
The U.S. Democratic Party finds itself at a crossroads at a critical time in the 2020 election cycle.Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, is the clear front-runner for the party nomination, despite warnings from moderate Democrats that Sanders would lead the party to defeat in November against President Donald Trump.As Democrats prepare for the busiest weeks of the primary season, they find their party once again sharply divided between its progressive wing and moderates, reminiscent of the 2016 nomination battle where Hillary Clinton eventually outlasted Sanders.From left, Democratic presidential candidates, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C.Shouting and frettingThe liberal-moderate split was on full display during the latest Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina, broadcast by CBS News.Sanders came under attack but defended the core vision of his campaign that seeks to close the vast gap in the country between those who are doing well economically and those who are struggling.“That is not an economy that’s working for the American people. That’s an economy working for the 1%,” Sanders said during the debate. “We’re going to create an economy for all, not just wealthy campaign contributors.”But Sanders got plenty of pushback from moderates who fear his nomination would send the party to defeat in November, possibly dragging congressional Democrats down with him.Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg was among those sounding the alarm.“If you think the last four years has been chaotic, divisive, toxic, exhausting, imagine spending the better part of 2020 with Bernie Sanders versus Donald Trump. Think about what that will be like for this country,” Buttigieg said.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., meets with attendees campaign event, Feb. 27, 2020, in Spartanburg, S.C.Energized baseSanders and his supporters argue he is succeeding because the Democratic Party has moved to the left since 2016. Sanders also points out that his victories in the early primaries and caucuses have demonstrated his appeal to younger, more energized voters, which he sees as the key to a big Democratic turnout in the November election.More than the other Democratic contenders so far, Sanders has generated some excitement, says John Fortier of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington.“I think he has some strength. He has a good core of people who are going to be with him no matter where he is, and he is likely to do very well, either winning or coming in second in the states ahead. So, he is in a pretty strong position,” Fortier said.But as Sanders’ prospects to be the nominee rise, moderate Democrats like Jim Kessler of the center-left advocacy group Third Way grow more concerned.“If you add up the moderate votes together in the early primaries, more people are voting for moderates,” Kessler told VOA. “For a moderate or a mainstream candidate to win that number, (the Democratic field) needs to consolidate, in terms of who is vying for those votes.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Conway, S.C., Feb. 27, 2020.Key test to comeThe Democratic field faces some key races in the coming days. South Carolina holds its primary Saturday, a key test for Biden.Next week, on what is known as Super Tuesday, 14 states hold primaries, with a total of 1,357 pledged delegates at stake. Sanders is favored to do well in several of those states, especially California, which has 415 delegates up for grabs.Analysts predict Sanders will continue to have an advantage in the primary race as long as the moderate contenders fail to rally around one candidate.“All of them have certain advantages but certain minuses, as well,” said Darrell West of the Brookings Institution in Washington. “And I think for one of the moderates to defeat Sanders, the field is really going to have to coalesce around one of those individuals.”The last two debates among the Democratic contenders have been hard-fought and even chaotic at times. Candidates shouted back and forth, while moderators struggled to keep order.From left, Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and businessman Tom Steyer, greet one another at the end of the Democratic presidential primary debate, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C..During the debate in Charleston, Klobuchar cautioned her rivals.“If we spend the next four months tearing our party apart, we are going to watch Donald Trump spend the next four years tearing our country apart,” she said.After Super Tuesday, the Democratic race heads to other large states with hundreds of delegates at stake, including Michigan and Missouri on March 10, and Arizona, Florida and Ohio on March 17.
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By Polityk | 02/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Coronavirus Emergency Funding Expected to Leap Political Hurdles
U.S. lawmakers are working to quickly pass a bipartisan bill providing billions of dollars in emergency funding to address the worldwide spread of a coronavirus. Increasing the pressure on lawmakers to address the threat is the first U.S. coronavirus case with no known cause, meaning the female victim in Northern California did not travel outside the U.S. or come in contact with anyone who is infected.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline. Embed” />CopyMore cases likelyNevertheless, health officials briefing lawmakers on the U.S. response said the public should not panic, even though more cases are expected.“The risk of the American public is low,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We have an aggressive containment strategy that really has worked up to this time; 15 cases in the United States. Until the case that we just had in Sacramento, we hadn’t had a new case in two weeks. We do believe we’re going to continue to see new cases.”The rapid movement of the virus is forcing many lawmakers to acknowledge that no one knows how much money will be enough, whether it’s the president’s $2.5 billion plan or Senate Democrats’ $8.5 billion proposal.“We should just be ready to make sure our scientists and the folks that are on the front line, particularly the folks that are in public health systems and hospitals on the frontline have the resources and support,” said Rep. Ami Bera, a Democrat from California and a physician.Funding soonDespite political disagreements, lawmakers are expecting to pass that extra funding by mid-March.McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor, said he has faith that bipartisan discussions on the Senate Appropriations Committee would agree on “the right sum … at this time to ensure our nation’s needs are fully funded” within the next two weeks.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has tried to calm fears about the virus by visiting a Chinatown in her California congressional district, said lawmakers were getting close to a deal.“We must stand ready to work in a bipartisan fashion in Congress, and with the administration to achieve the necessary goal,” she said. “Lives are at stake. This is not a time for name calling or playing politics.”Reuters contributed to this report.
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By Polityk | 02/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
South Carolina Democrats Hunt for Candidate to Beat Trump
It’s hard for Darryl Thomson to escape the onslaught of political messaging ahead of South Carolina’s Democratic primary election.“It’s everywhere, it’s on social media, it’s on broadcast … everywhere you want, it’s there,” he says, including on the radio of the truck he drives for a living.But Thompson isn’t tuning out. He’s actually “watching to see who has the better deal” addressing the issues that concern him most, such as the incarceration levels in his state, and the high costs of health care and college tuition. But there is one thing he says he wants more than anything else.“I want somebody who can beat President Trump,” he told Voice of America while watching the latest debate among the remaining Democrats in the race for the nomination. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders rallies with supporters at Winston-Salem State University in Winston-Salem, N.C., Feb. 27, 2020.“Bernie Sanders … all day long,” he declares without hesitation. “He has the momentum.”While Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist fresh off victories in New Hampshire and Nevada, is the current front-runner for Democrats nationally, in South Carolina former Vice President Joe Biden has led recent polls of likely voters.Businessman Tom Steyer is also polling strongly, while former South Bend, Indiana , Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar are all trailing after mixed results in earlier contests.“I think some of the things that Bernie Sanders says has sparked interest in some people, but as you start to dig into those facts, some of the things that Bernie Sanders says actually will not work,” says Michelle Nelson, an adjunct professor with the Medical University of South Carolina. “That’s why we need Joe Biden. Joe Biden has been there. He knows how it works.” FILE – In this Feb. 26, 2020, file photo, Rev. Al Sharpton greets Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., at the National Action Network South Carolina Ministers’ Breakfast in North Charleston, S.C.While attending a National Action Network civil rights breakfast, hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton at her church, Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist in Charleston, Nelson had the opportunity to hear from many of the presidential candidates in person. She says this is the most consequential election of her life.“That’s why we really need to get behind Joe Biden because he is the only candidate that has the strength, the capacity, and the know-how to take on and beat Donald Trump.”“I’m looking at Bloomberg, surprisingly, because I want to win,” Georgetown, South Carolina travel company owner Vanessa Greene told VOA. Even though former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not on the ballot in South Carolina, pockets of support for him reveal a Democratic electorate that has yet to rally around a single candidate. “Unfortunately, Bloomberg isn’t here but it makes a difference when you are able to kind of be in the same room with someone,” Greene said before admitting she hasn’t fully made up her mind, and was waiting in line to attend a town hall campaign event with Biden just a few days before she cast her ballot.“I think people really want to find someone who the can wrap themselves around, so I think they will give him a good hearing,” she said about Biden.People wait for Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to arrive at Scott’s Bar-B-Que in Hemingway, S.C., Feb. 27, 2020. “The black vote is 50, 60 percent of the Democratic strength here, and that’s going to be the interesting thing in the primary — where does that black vote go?” asks University of South Carolina professor Charles Bierbauer who says the Palmetto state is “everything” to Biden, who, as vice president, served alongside America’s first black president, Barack Obama, but has yet to win a nominating contest this year.“He [Biden] has not shown well in the first three caucuses and primaries. Second in Nevada. He has to win someplace, and this has always been the place,” says Bierbauer, who also covered politics as a senior Washington correspondent for CNN. “Politicians like to refer to that as a firewall, somewhere, something that will stop the spread of, in this case, the Bernie Sanders campaign.”South Carolina is also an “open” primary, which means voters from either party can vote for a candidate in the election. With Trump as the presumptive nominee for Republicans, some activists are encouraging Republican voters to turn out and vote on the Democratic side for Sanders as a way to create chaos for Democrats, and blunt a strong showing for Biden in South Carolina.“I wouldn’t mind Joe Biden … the thing about the Democratic Party is we have to make up our mind,” says voter Darryl Thompson. While they disagree on the best candidate, Democrats in South Carolina seek party unity moving forward.“We can’t have so many of us scattered,” says Thompson. “All of us have to come together.”“It’s very important that we unite as African Americans, and we unite as Democrats to nominate a candidate that can be elected,” says Michelle Nelson, the medical school professor. Nelson added: “Our votes on Saturday are going to speak to other states like Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia” which hold contests several days later in the March 3 Super Tuesday primary election event. It’s the date when the largest number of states or territories hold presidential preference contests, and a large numbers of minority voters will head to the polls.“We need someone strong enough to put Donald Trump out of office,” Nelson emphasized.Trump reached office with South Carolina’s help, winning the state decisively in the 2016 election.
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By Polityk | 02/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Looks to Invigorate Presidential Bid in South Carolina
The contest to nominate a Democrat to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November general election comes to South Carolina on Saturday ((February 29th)). As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, former Vice President Joe Biden is counting on the support of African Americans who make up a majority of Democrat Party voters in the state to help him break through with a much-needed win.
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By Polityk | 02/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Majority Leader McConnell Hopes to See Coronavirus Funding Bill Within 2 Weeks
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday that he expects Senate
appropriators to produce funding legislation within the next two weeks to fight the spread of coronavirus in the United States.
McConnell, speaking on the Senate floor, said he has faith that bipartisan discussions on the Senate Appropriations
Committee would agree on “the right sum … at this time to ensure our nation’s needs are fully funded.”
“I hope they can work expeditiously so the full Senate would be able to take up the legislation within the next two weeks,” the Kentucky Republican said.
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By Polityk | 02/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
NORC Poll: Election Security, Integrity Worry Americans
Americans have widespread concerns about the security and integrity of elections, with few saying they have high confidence that votes in the 2020 presidential election will be counted accurately.
A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds skepticism about the democratic process in the United States. While a third of Americans say they have high confidence in an accurate count, roughly another third are only moderately confident and a remaining third say they have little confidence.
“What’s to prevent old Vlad Putin from interfering in the election? I don’t know,” says Reid Gibson, an independent voter in Missouri, referring to the Russian president, who U.S. intelligence agencies say interfered in the 2016 election with a sophisticated operation to sow division and help elect Donald Trump, a Republican.
FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress this month that Russia is still engaged in “information warfare” heading into the 2020 election but that law enforcement has not seen efforts to target infrastructure like the voting machines.
Still, U.S. officials say one of Russia’s goals is to sow doubt about the integrity of U.S. elections, and the poll suggests that even if Russia isn’t targeting voting infrastructure it may be achieving that goal because of the lack of voter confidence following from the 2016 election.
Gibson, who says he leans Democratic, is pessimistic about the state of U.S. politics and has little confidence that votes in the 2020 presidential election will be counted accurately. He says he’s been concerned about the way elections are conducted since 2000, when voter problems in Florida delayed resolution of the presidential election and a Supreme Court decision to stop a ballot recount ultimately put George W. Bush, a Republican, in office.
In general, Americans have mixed feelings about the way the country’s political leaders are chosen, with about as many saying they are optimistic as saying they are pessimistic.
There also are widespread fears about security vulnerabilities as well as voter suppression and voter fraud. About half of Americans say they are highly concerned that the country’s voting systems might be vulnerable to hackers, and about that many also are strongly concerned about foreign governments interfering by tampering with election results or influencing American attitudes.
But concerns vary significantly by partisanship, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to express worries about the security of elections. About 6 in 10 Democrats say they are very or extremely concerned that voting systems might be vulnerable to hackers. Roughly two-thirds also are highly concerned that foreign governments will interfere in 2020 by tampering with results or influencing what Americans think about political candidates.
By contrast, fewer than half of Republicans express significant concern about hackers, and just about a quarter are highly concerned about any form of foreign interference.
U.S. intelligence agencies and special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Mueller charged 13 Russians in a covert social media campaign that prosecutors said was aimed at dividing public opinion on hot-button social issues as well as propping up Trump while denigrating Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee.
The government has said that Russian agents also searched for vulnerabilities within election systems in all 50 states during the 2016 election cycle, though there is no evidence that votes were changed.
Trump has often pushed back on the findings by his own intelligence agencies, saying frequently that investigations into interference were a “hoax.”
Voter fraud and voter suppression also elicit a wide partisan divide. Nearly 7 in 10 Republicans show concerns about voter fraud, saying people voting who are not eligible is a major problem in U.S. elections. That compares with about a quarter of Democrats.
Meanwhile, Democrats are concerned about voter suppression. Almost two-thirds say it is a major problem that people who are eligible are not allowed to vote, while only about a third of Republicans say the same.
The opposing views come as Republicans in some states have implemented laws requiring voters to show identification, arguing that it will combat voter fraud. Democrats have fought many of those laws, saying they disenfranchise some voters.
With their candidate sitting in the Oval Office, Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to say they are optimistic about the way political leaders are chosen. Republicans also are more likely than Democrats to be strongly confident that votes will be counted accurately.
“I think it’s about as fair is it could be,” says Richard Merritt, 53, a Republican from Maine who supports Trump. “If someone was trying to hack into a voting system, the United States would be on top of that before you and I even knew it.”
Views on election integrity and security also divide along racial lines. Roughly two-thirds of black Americans say they have little confidence that votes in 2020 will be counted accurately, compared with fewer than 4 in 10 white Americans or Hispanics saying the same. Wide shares of black Americans, more so than white Americans or Hispanics, are concerned about hackers and foreign interference.
Robert King, a 70-year-old African American man from Michigan, says he might not even vote this year “because of the tampering and all of this other stuff going on.” He says he’s concerned that his vote might not even be counted.
Nearly 8 in 10 black Americans also say it’s a major problem that people who are eligible are not allowed to vote.
Richard Hasen, author of the book “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy,” says voter identification laws have led voters in both major political parties to believe that the other side is cheating. “There is increasingly incendiary rhetoric” on the voter fraud issue, he says.
Hasen says he believes many Americans’ concerns about the process come after they tune into major news events, such as election problems in the recent Iowa caucuses or Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference.
“I think there are threats to our system,” Hasen says, “but I think the question of voter confidence is separate from the reality.”
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By Polityk | 02/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Looks to South Carolina to Save His Political Future
In his third run for the U.S. presidency, former Vice President Joe Biden is fighting for his political life.But possible signs that he could win Saturday’s key Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina give him a chance in the long string of nominating contests that follow in March.Biden confidently declared at Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate that he would win the southern state, and some polls support his claim. Polling website fivethirtyeight.com shows Biden winning about 30% of the vote, followed by national front-runner Bernie Sanders with 23%, and Tom Steyer, a wealthy long shot, polling third at 13%.Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at a campaign event in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 26, 2020.Biden, with longtime support from African American voters, is hoping to win in a state where blacks could comprise more than half of the Democratic vote. He has been touting his experience as second in command for eight years under the country’s only black president, Barack Obama. On Wednesday, a key black lawmaker from the state, Congressman James Clyburn, endorsed Biden’s candidacy.“I’ve been saying to the media, I’ve known for a long time who I’m going to vote for,” Clyburn said. “But I want the public to know that I’m voting for Joe Biden. South Carolina should be voting for Joe Biden.”Biden once led national polls of Democratic voters as the candidate with the best chance to oust Republican President Donald Trump. But Sanders, a longtime senator from the northeastern state of Vermont and a self-declared democratic socialist, has pushed Biden to second place in national polls after winning the popular vote in the first three party nominating contests this month.Meanwhile, Biden finished fourth in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire and a distant second to Sanders last Saturday in Nevada.U.S. political analysts credited Biden with a strong debate performance, but verbal gaffes marred his performance.While promoting his support for gun control legislation, Biden mistakenly said that 150 million Americans had been shot to death in recent years, a staggering number that involved nearly half the U.S. population. His campaign later acknowledged that the correct number was 150,000 people.Trump, assessing the Democratic candidates, took note of Biden’s mistake.”Crazy, chaotic Democrat Debate last night. Fake News said Biden did well, even though he said half of our population was shot to death. Would be OVER for most,” he tweeted.Crazy, chaotic Democrat Debate last night. Fake News said Biden did well, even though he said half of our population was shot to death. Would be OVER for most. Mini Mike was weak and unsteady, but helped greatly by his many commercials (which are not supposed to be allowed….— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 26, 2020Whatever Biden’s fate in South Carolina, he and the other Democratic candidates face an immediate new challenge on Super Tuesday, when 14 states hold Democratic nominating contests to pick delegates to the party’s national convention in July.While 54 delegates are in play in South Carolina, a total of 1,357 are at stake on Super Tuesday, when former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appears on the ballot for the first time. The one-day voting marathon accounts for a third of the delegates.Because Democrats award national delegates based on the proportion of the vote the candidates claim in each state, several contenders could win a sizable delegate count.But based on polling, fivethirtyeight predicts Sanders could win 587 pledged delegates on Tuesday. Biden could win 305; Bloomberg, 211; and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 132.Such a result would put Sanders in a commanding position to eventually claim the Democratic presidential nomination, although nowhere near the 1,990-delegate majority any of the candidates need. A large Sanders lead after Super Tuesday could also force out weaker performing candidates.
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By Polityk | 02/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democratic Rivals Put New Focus on Sanders’ Radical Past
At Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential candidates debate, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, the progressive front-runner for the party nomination to face off against President Donald Trump in November’s election, came under fire for comments he made praising communist Cuba under authoritarian leader Fidel Castro. VOA’s Brian Padden reports on concerns that if Sanders wins the nomination, his polarizing foreign policy views and democratic socialist domestic agenda could lead to catastrophic losses for the Democratic Party.
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By Polityk | 02/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Barr, DeVos, Sekulow Speak at Religious Broadcasters Forum
U.S. Attorney General William Barr will be a featured speaker Wednesday at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Tennessee. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Jay Sekulow, one of the attorneys who defended President Donald Trump during his impeachment trial, are also on the schedule.Barr’s afternoon presentation is part of a forum that will explore how the First Amendment should handle “divergent, and sometimes clashing, religious faiths,” according to the convention schedule.
DeVos and Sekulow will form part of a morning panel discussing public policy.
National Religious Broadcasters, or NRB, describes itself as an international association of Christian communicators. Members subscribe to a conservative statement of faith that includes a belief in the infallibility of the Bible, a belief that marriage is between one man and one woman and a belief that men and women have “distinct roles.”
The convention at a Nashville hotel runs through Friday.
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By Polityk | 02/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Nabs Clyburn Endorsement Before South Carolina Primary
U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and the kingmaker of South Carolina’s Democratic political orbit, on Wednesday endorsed Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. The backing could provide a much-needed boost for the former vice president heading into South Carolina’s primary.
“I can think of no one better suited, better prepared, I can think of no one with the integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles that make this country what it is than my good friend,” said Clyburn, appearing with Biden at an event in North Charleston.
He called on the people of South Carolina to “stand with” Biden.
It had long been expected that Clyburn, the House majority whip, would support Biden. The men were in Congress together for more than a decade, with Clyburn also working closely with the Obama administration in his House leadership roles. Biden was among the presidential hopefuls and other political notables who attended two days of funeral and homegoing services last year for Clyburn’s wife, Emily.
The support could help Biden avoid limping across the finish line in Saturday’s balloting in South Carolina, where he has long led in polling, particularly among the black voters, who comprise most of the Democratic electorate. But that lead has tightened in recent months, in part because of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ momentum after success in other early state contests. Another factor is the focus of candidates including California billionaire Tom Steyer, who has spent millions of dollars on ads in the state and worked to build relationships with black voters.
Biden, taking the podium from Clyburn on Wednesday, thanked his longtime friend but then quickly slipped into an opaque reference to Sanders.
“Today, people are talking about a revolution,” Biden said. “But what the country’s looking for are results. What they’re looking for is security. What they’re looking for is being able to sustain and maintain their dignity.”
Biden went on to note Clyburn’s role in securing the Democratic votes for the 2010 health insurance overhaul that ranks as President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement. Biden said his proposal for a “public option” insurance plan to expand coverage under Obamacare would build on Clyburn’s work rather than “start from scratch” with single-payer government insurance that Sanders proposes.
“What people are looking for is some hope, some reassurance, some notion that ‘I can take care of my family,’” Biden said.
Following poor finishes in Iowa and in New Hampshire, Biden notched a second-place finish in the Nevada caucuses, a status he said positioned him to do well in South Carolina, a state that can be a bellwether for other Southern states and has been referred to as Biden’s “firewall” of support.
Earlier this month, Clyburn gave some insight into his thinking when he said that he was watching efforts by several campaigns aiming to cut into Biden’s support in South Carolina. Clyburn noted that Steyer, in particular, is doing “an incredible job.”
Clyburn also said former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg “is doing very good.” Clyburn has previously said Buttigieg may struggle among older black voters because he is gay. Clyburn’s grandson is working for Buttigieg’s South Carolina campaign.
Asked directly if South Carolina is Biden’s “firewall,” where success or failure could make or break his campaign in the states that follow, Clyburn said, “Well, I don’t know. We will see.”
Clyburn hosted Biden and nearly two dozen other Democratic hopefuls last summer at his fish fry, which began in 1992 in a parking deck near the South Carolina Statehouse as a way to thank volunteers who helped him, secure his first congressional victory. Through the years, the fish fry has blossomed into a showpiece event for Democratic politicians in the state and as a must-stop event for the party’s presidential contenders aiming to build support in the state.
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By Polityk | 02/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democratic Presidential Candidates Say Front-Runner Sanders Can’t Beat Trump
U.S. Democratic presidential contenders targeted front-runner Bernie Sanders in a raucous debate late Tuesday, contending that the self-declared democratic socialist would lose to Republican President Donald Trump in November’s national election if he is the party’s nominee.”Bernie will lose to Donald Trump, and the House and Senate will turn [Republican],” former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the 10th Democratic presidential debate on a stage in Charleston, South Carolina, four days ahead of Saturday’s key presidential primary in the mid-Atlantic state.Sanders retorted that national surveys show that in the last 50 hypothetical matches against Trump, he had beaten him 47 times.But Bloomberg responded, looking directly at Sanders, “Can you imagine a moderate Republican voting for him?”Another candidate, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime ally of Sanders, contended that, “I would make a better president than Bernie,” saying that she could advance the progressive policy goals they share and that he would not be able to.Sanders’ opponents lobbed one attack after another at the 78-year-old lawmaker, chiding him for favoring a government-run health insurance program that could cost $60 trillion over a decade and end private insurance plans that 160 million Americans use to help pay their health care bills. They also assailed Sanders for opposing bills in Congress that would have held gun manufacturers liable for gun violence in the U.S.Sanders defended his signature “Medicare for All” health plan, saying it would cut health care costs for millions of Americans. He conceded his vote on the gun legislation “was a bad vote.”From left, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., on stage as they participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C.Sanders, a longtime senator from Vermont in the northeastern U.S., has surged to the top of national polls of Democratic voters, but his opponents for the Democratic nomination said he is out of step with many American voters.They claimed that Sanders’ plans to sharply increase social welfare spending for health and education would be too costly. In interviews this week, Sanders’ opponents have also attacked his decades-old favorable assessments of leftist strongmen — the late Fidel Castro in Cuba and Nicaragua’s revolutionary president, Daniel Ortega — saying it would prove to be indefensible and a political disaster for U.S. Democrats in 2020.In an interview last weekend, Sanders praised Castro’s literacy program in Cuba, despite long-standing U.S. condemnation of Castro’s years of human rights abuses. Old videos of Sanders, when he was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, and visiting Cuba and Nicaragua, are resurfacing, showing him praising advances in socialist countries, haunting his second bid for the U.S. presidency.Late in the debate, Sanders said he has “opposed authoritarians all over the world,” but contended that “when dictatorships do something good, you acknowledge, but you don’t exchange love letters.”
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg said such a Sanders sentiment would not help him run against Trump.“I am not looking forward to a scenario where it comes down to Donald Trump, with his nostalgia for the social order of the 1950s, and Bernie Sanders, with nostalgia for the revolutionary politics of the 1960s,” Buttigieg said. “This is not about what was happening in the 1970s or ’80s, this is about the future. This is about 2020.”Moreover, on the eve of the Nevada caucuses last week, The Washington Post revealed that U.S. intelligence officials had informed Sanders that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to help Sanders win the nomination, in hopes that he would be an easier opponent for President Trump.At the top of the debate, Bloomberg took a pot shot at Sanders, saying, “Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump is, should be president of the United States, and that’s why Russia is helping you get [nominated] so you’ll lose to him.”An agitated Sanders responded: “Hey, Mr. Putin, trust me, if I’m president, you’re not going to interfere in any more American elections.”The face-to-face confrontation among seven candidates also came just a week before voters head to the polls in 14 states next Tuesday, when more than a third of the delegates to the Democrats’ national nominating convention in July will be picked in a one-day marathon of voting from coast to coast.Sanders won the popular vote in the first three nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, making it imperative for at least one of Sanders’ opponents to mount a serious challenge in the next week of voting or face the prospect that Sanders could soon amass an insurmountable lead in pledged delegates to the national convention.Democratic presidential candidates, former Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C.Democrats apportion their pledged delegates to the national conclave based on the proportional outcome of the candidates’ vote totals throughout the 50 states and U.S. territories, not on a winner-take-all basis as is the case within the Republican Party. That gives Sanders a chance to add to his first-place standing in the count of pledged delegates as each state votes, even if he loses an individual state.Former Vice President Joe Biden is narrowly ahead of Sanders in recent polling in South Carolina, with its 54 national delegates in play. But analysts have not discounted the possibility that Sanders could also win the state three days ahead of the March 3 voting, a day dubbed as Super Tuesday. when a massive haul of 1,357 delegates is at stake.Biden, who once led national polls in the race to take on Trump, finished a distant second in last Saturday’s Nevada voting, and even further back in Iowa and New Hampshire.The South Carolina polling shows wealthy environmentalist Tom Steyer, who has spent large sums on an advertising campaign in the state, could finish third in the balloting, which could lend modest momentum to his long shot candidacy. The surveys in the state show him ahead of former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Warren and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.For the second debate in a row, Warren attacked Bloomberg’s sexist and misogynistic comments toward female workers at his eponymous business information company that he founded, an enterprise that made him the 12th-richest person in the world.In a heated exchange, Warren accused Bloomberg of suggesting to a woman who worked for him and had just announced her pregnancy to “kill it,” and have an abortion.”I never said that,” he heatedly answered, later adding emphatically, “I categorically never said it.”Bloomberg, by his choice, is not on the South Carolina ballot, and instead has focused on next Tuesday’s voting, when he is on all 14 of the Super Tuesday ballots.He appeared on the debate stage with his opponents for the first time last week, but the billionaire came under withering attack, with his challengers accusing him of trying to buy the election with his vast wealth.Bloomberg’s opponents also assailed the stop-and-frisk, anti-crime policing effort he employed as New York mayor from 2002 to 2013, a program he now says he is embarrassed by because of the effect it had in targeting young black and Latino men.After Warren assailed his refusal at last week’s debate to release women from secrecy agreements about the financial settlements they reached with Bloomberg’s company, he agreed that three women who had specifically accused him of demeaning remarks could speak publicly if they wanted to, but no one has as yet. It is not clear how many financial settlements Bloomberg reached with women who worked for his company.Warren said Tuesday Bloomberg should release women from all the settlements, not just the three he has agreed to do.”The trouble with this senator, enough is never enough,” Bloomberg said.From left, Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, shake hands on stage at the end of the Democratic presidential primary debate Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C.Bloomberg has made no apologies for his fortune, saying he has donated vast sums to charitable ventures, as well as arts, environmental, public health, anti-smoking and gun control organizations.Now, he said, he is spending hundreds of millions of his own money trying to unseat fellow New Yorker Trump, a man he has occasionally praised over the years as a prominent real estate mogul but now assails as an unfit president.As the debate neared the end, the seven candidates were asked what they thought the public’s biggest misconception was about them.
Steyer, a multibillionaire investor and philanthropist, said “I am defined” by my business success. Klobuchar, the Minnesota senator, said, “The biggest misconception is that I’m boring, because I’m not.” Sanders said the biggest misconception was that “the ideas I’m talking about are radical, because they’re not [and] in one form or another they exist in countries around the world.” Warren’s response was “that I don’t eat very much. I eat all the time.”
Biden drew laughter when he said the biggest misconception is “I have more hair than I think I do.” Buttigieg lamented that “I think the biggest misconception is that I’m not passionate. … Some say I’m unflappable. I don’t think you would want a flappable president.”
Finally, the 5-foot-8-inch Bloomberg joked, “The biggest misconception is that I’m 6 feet tall.”“I have been training for this job for a long time, and when I get it, I will do something, and not just talk about it,” Bloomberg added.
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By Polityk | 02/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Returns From India Visit, But With Some Rewards Yet to Come
U.S. President Donald Trump has wrapped up a spectacle-filled visit to India, where he was greeted by massive crowds in a “Namaste Trump” event, took in the grandeur of the Taj Mahal and declared U.S.-India relations to be “stronger than ever before.”The president stayed on script on a visit that was designed to accentuate the positive and personal dimensions of the U.S.-India relationship.“We’ll always remember that magnificent welcome the citizens of your home state showed us upon arrival,” Trump said to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling it a “profound expression of strength and of real love.”The visit was marred, however, by violent street protests of rival Hindu and Muslim groups demonstrating over a new citizenship law that led to the deaths of at least 10 people in two days of clashes, the Associated Press reported. Another 186 people were injured, including police and protesters.U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before their meeting at Hyderabad House, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India.India’s capital has been rocked by violence and demonstrations since parliament approved a new citizenship law in December that would allow a speedy naturalization process for many foreign-born religious minorities but not Muslims. Trump said he was aware of the protests but did not discuss it with Modi.”I don’t want to discuss that,” Trump told reporters. “I want to leave that to India and hopefully they’re going to make the right decision for the people.”during Trump’s visit, the two countries did not manage to bridge differences over a bilateral trade deal, but observers said the president benefited from 100,000 people of an important country cheering for him, on his first major foreign trips since being acquitted of impeachment charges in the U.S.The visit “is an answer to critics who accuse him of diminishing America’s power and prestige abroad,” Thomas Schwartz, a historian of U.S. foreign relations at Vanderbilt University, said.“It also does not hurt that this is a non-white country,” Schwartz said.A video by a self-proclaimed fan “to celebrate Trump’s India visit” went viral after a retweet by the president. The meme shows Trump on a horse leading an army, wielding a sword and killing enemies.Look so forward to being with my great friends in INDIA! U.S. President Donald Trump holds up his prepared speech that he didn’t use as he speaks with business leaders at a roundtable event at Roosevelt House, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India.Trump is unlikely to agree to this demand but publicly airing the differences over issues important to the Indian diaspora scores political points for Modi.“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is well-organized here in the United States, and will be quite pleased to see a positive visit,” said Richard Rossow, the Wadhwani chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Supporters of the Communist Party of India-Marxist protest against the India visit of U.S. President Donald Trump in Mumbai, India, Feb 25, 2020.India has the most Trump-branded properties outside of North America but the economic woes have left the country’s real estate market struggling and the Trump brand is no exception. The New York Times reported that the Trump family’s partners in Pune have stopped attempting to sell half of the luxury apartments in the complex.While the president did not publicly mention his family business during his trip, the visit generates more conflict-of-interest questions about mixing presidential duties with personal gain.“The president has shown a longstanding disregard for ethical norms, and could have done far more to insulate himself from the appearance of impropriety with respect to his holdings in India and elsewhere,” White, of Johns Hopkins, said.The Indian projects were negotiated before Trump was elected and the Trump Organization has vowed that there would be “no new foreign deals” while the president is in office. In 2018, Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of the Trump Organization, went on a business trip to promote the family’s real estate brand across India. He generated more than $15 million in real estate sales.Trump has denied allegations of violations of the emoluments clause of the Constitution that prohibits officials from receiving gifts from foreign actors.
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By Polityk | 02/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Democrats Thwart Senate Republicans on 2 Abortion-Related Bills
Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a pair of Republican bills that would ban most late-term abortions and threaten prison for doctors who don’t try saving the life of infants born alive during abortions.The measures have been defeated multiple times in recent years, but Senate Republicans pushed for renewed votes to allow GOP lawmakers to make an election-year appeal to conservative voters.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 25, 2020.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell accused Democrats of bowing to “the radical demands of the far left” to “drown out common sense” and the views of millions of Americans.”It almost defies belief that an entire political party could find cause to object to this basic protection for babies,” the Kentucky Republican said.Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 25, 2020.Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer blasted McConnell for taking up the Senate’s time on what he called “fake, dishonest and extreme legislation that has nothing to do with improving the lives of ordinary Americans.”Noting that existing laws protect infants, Schumer said the GOP bills would, in effect, “criminalize” women’s reproductive care and intimidate health care providers.”Putting these already defeated bills up for a show vote is not a good faith attempt to improve the lives of … American women,” the New York Democrat said. “Every single Senate Republican knows that these bills cannot and will not pass. But they’re putting them on the floor anyway to pander to the hard right. And to cover up the fact that they won’t provide good health care for women.”The votesSenators voted 56-41 for the born-alive bill, and 53-44 for a separate measure banning most abortions after 20 weeks. Both tallies were short of the 60 votes needed to end Democratic delaying tactics and force a Senate vote.Democratic Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Doug Jones of Alabama and Joe Manchin from West Virginia were the only lawmakers to cross party lines on the born-alive bill. Jones and GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska opposed the late-term abortion ban.Three senators seeking the Democratic nomination for president — Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota — did not cast votes.Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the Senate debate was not about passing laws or even health care. “It is really about Republicans’ crass political calculation that they can fire up their far-right base with an all-out war against the constitutionally protected right to safe, legal abortion,” she said.The billsSen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the bill he sponsored was not about limiting access to abortion at all. Instead, the bill is intended to make sure that every newborn baby “has a fighting chance — whether she’s born in a labor and delivery ward or whether she’s born in an abortion clinic.”Sasse’s bill would make it a crime to deny care to a baby that’s survived an abortion. “Are we a country that protects babies that are alive, born outside the womb after having survived a botched abortion?” he asked.FILE – Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 31, 2020.Or is the United States a country “that says it’s okay to just sit back and allow that baby to die? It’s a plain and simple question and we all know what the right answer is,” Sasse said. ”This isn’t a hard call.”A separate bill sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would essentially ban abortion after 20 weeks, the point at which many scientists say an unborn child can feel pain.Graham said he believes a majority of Americans oppose allowing abortion in the fifth month of pregnancy. The United States is currently one of seven countries in the world that permit elective abortion after 20 weeks.”The United States should not be in that club,” Graham said.The argumentsThe two votes marked the latest instance in which Republicans have tried to go on offense on the issue of abortion and put Democratic lawmakers who support abortion rights in an uncomfortable position.”It’s hard to believe that, in 21st century America, the life of a baby more than halfway through pregnancy is considered up for debate, but it’s true,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, a group that works to elect anti-abortion candidates.Opponents, noting the rarity of such births and citing laws making it a crime to kill newborn babies, said the GOP bills were unnecessary. They called the proposals part of a push by abortion opponents to curb access to the procedure and intimidate doctors who perform it, and said late-term abortions generally occur when the infant is considered incapable of surviving after birth.Only 1% of all abortions occur after 21 weeks of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Abortions during the final weeks are rarer still.Doctors and abortion-rights groups say it is extremely unusual for live infants to be born during attempted late-term abortions, which they say usually occur when the baby is extremely deformed or deemed unable to survive after birth. In such cases, families sometimes decide they want to induce labor so they can spend time with the infant before it dies.”Families across the country have actually faced these decisions, have spoken out to make clear politicians should have no part in them,” Murray said. ”Pressing for these awful bills year after year may be nothing more than a cynical political tactic for Republicans, but passing them would be an unconscionable exercise in cruelty.”
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By Polityk | 02/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
