Republicans

T he grand ballroom at Cipriani Wall Street is bathed in purple and red. There are red and white lights and blue curtains and a massive Christmas tree all underneath the glow of two jumbotrons. There’s a bald man with a ruddy dome and a senator in a scarlet waistcoat. A pool of wine vomit appears in a bathroom sink in between the risotto course and the filet mignon.  I’m in the corner with the rest of the press, crammed up against a riser where photographers grumble because they cannot actually see shit…

US President Joe Biden has vetoes a Republican resolution to block his administration's plan to allocate $7.5 billion for the construction of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the US President Biden has…

House Speaker Mike Johnson has thrown his support behind Greg Abbott as the Texas governor continues to defy the Biden administration following a Supreme Court ruling granting the federal government authority to remove swaths of razor wire installed at the southern border by the state.  On Monday, the conservative-controlled court determined in a 5-4 ruling that the Biden administration can remove concertina wire Texas installed at various points of their border with Mexico. The coils of wire have been linked to…

Big Pharma has invested big money in the organizations planning what a MAGA policy agenda will look like in a new Trump administration. Not surprisingly, that policy playbook contains a major gift for the drug industry: a swift end to the Biden administration’s landmark program to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. For two decades, Congress barred Medicare from negotiating prescription drug prices, which is a major reason why Americans pay higher prices for drugs than anyone else in the world. In 2022,…

When Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater contemplated a run for president in the 1964 election, he introduced himself to a national audience by releasing a photo of himself dressed in a buckskin jacket, cowboy hat and jeans, holding an antique rifle on his knee. He looked every inch the frontiersman — except for the swimming pool in the background.Those who knew Goldwater might have chuckled at another detail. Although his family had genuine 19th century Arizona roots, they had made their fortune in department stores, not…

Republican lawmakers in the House are once again at each other’s throats, this time over their efforts to secure hardline border and immigration reform.  On Friday, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) skewered former President Donald Trump — and members of his own party — for failing to secure the border during his own time in office during an interview on Fox Business.  “President Trump failed, along with Republicans … they failed in 2018 to actually move a border security bill to tighten this so that we weren’t dealing…

For months now, Republicans in the House of Representatives have been holding major legislation hostage and threatening a full-blown government shutdown over their demands for hardline, extreme immigration reforms. Now, as congressional leadership works to finalize a Biden-endorsed immigration reform package, Trump is trashing the deal publicly, and privately referring to anyone in his party who supports it as “stupid.”  Trump has recently told confidants in influential conservative media and political circles…

A new measure in Florida aims to allow 16-year-old kids to drop out of school and work full time.  An amendment to HB 49 — offered by the bill’s author, state Rep. Linda Chaney (R) — would eliminate laws that prevent 16 and 17-year-olds from working more than 30 hours a week, impose 8-hour workday restrictions, and guarantee mandated breaks every four hours.  The bill, introduced in September and now under review by the Florida House Regulatory Reform and Economic Development Subcommittee, would relegate 16…

Republican lawmakers in Florida are pushing a bill that would revise the state’s wrongful death law, allowing individuals to sue — and recover monetary damages — over the loss of an “unborn child.” Critics say the legislation would allow individuals to bring wrongful death lawsuits against doctors who provide abortion care and even friends or relatives who help a woman obtain an abortion — something men have already tried doing in several states that have banned abortion or passed laws granting “personhood” rights…

Despite the buzz and the endorsements and the right-wing donors funneling of millions of dollars into her campaign, Republican candidate Nikki Haley was never going to be president of the United States. Now, she’s really never going to be president of the United States — and about the only thing that’s surprising about this turn of nonevents is the reason why. Race and racism, as it turns out, are important issues, even for Republicans. Well, sort of. But first, let’s back up. By now, you’ve probably heard about the…