Sanders's ‘Fighting Oligarchy' tour heads to West Virginia, North Carolina
Sanders's website states that the tour is headed to Wheeling, W.Va., on Aug. 8, Lenore, W.Va., on Aug. 9, Charleston, W.Va., on Aug. 9, Greensboro, N.C., on Aug. 10 and Asheville, N.C., on Aug. 10.
The Vermont senator's tour comes amid deep discontent in the Democratic Party about how to move forward in the wake of last November's election. Sanders said in a previous New York Times report that his tour is meant to encourage more independent candidates to run.
'One of the aspects of this tour is to try to rally people to get engaged in the political process and run as independents outside of the Democratic Party,' Sanders told the Times.
'There's a lot of great leadership all over this country at the grass-roots level. We've got to bring that forward. And if we do that, we can defeat Trumpism and we can transform the political situation in America,' he added.
A Sanders-style progressive, Zohran Mamdani, also recently made headlines in New York City when he toppled political heavyweight and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city's Democratic primary for mayor, a shock upset.
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New York Post
8 minutes ago
- New York Post
Biden ‘Politburo' aide Bruce Reed blames ex-prez's debate fiasco on his stutter
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NBC News
9 minutes ago
- NBC News
A Republican got jeered at a townhall. He plans to hold more.
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., faced off with a raucous crowd that hurled boos, jeers and middle fingers at him at a town hall in Lincoln on Monday. The conservative Republican said he has no regrets and would do it all over again. 'I don't regret it at all,' Flood said in a phone interview on Tuesday. 'Every member of Congress has to do it the way they see fit. But for me, this comes with the territory. And I feel like you got to put yourself in the town square if you want to be a member of Congress for your district.' 'And if you feel strongly about how you're voting and the choices you're making,' he added, 'you should be able to stand on the town square and be accountable for those votes and tell people why you did it and take their input.' In this polarized political climate, the vast majority of lawmakers, in both parties, are opting not to hold town halls this August recess. Last spring, after a series of GOP town halls went off the rails, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., the GOP campaign chief for the 2026 election cycle, urged his Republican colleagues not to hold in-person town halls, calling them 'no longer effective' due to Democratic disruptions. And violent threats against politicians have seen a steady uptick in recent years. But Flood, the chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus, whose members call themselves 'pragmatic conservatives,' didn't heed Hudson's advice. He held a town hall in Columbus in March and another in Seward in May before Monday's event on the University of Nebraska campus in liberal-leaning Lincoln, the largest city in his district. 'As elected officials, we have to put ourselves in environments that are not comfortable,' he said, though he made clear he was not judging colleagues in either party who have chosen not to hold town halls. House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McLain, R-Mich., called him Tuesday morning and commended him for hanging tough, Flood said. His next town hall will likely be held in the spring. Flood said concerns about cuts to Medicaid in the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' dominated Monday night's 87-minute town hall, which was carried live by public television. 'Medicaid, Medicaid, Medicaid, Medicaid — that was the No. 1 issue and something I started out with, just because I'm looking at the calls my office gets,' Flood said, adding that he spent time during the town hall addressing confusion in the audience about how the bill would affect them and reassuring seniors that they wouldn't lose their Medicare coverage. The Trump law does require recipients of Medicaid — the health care program for low-income people and those with disabilities — to work 80 hours per month if they are able-bodied adults under age 65, with some exceptions. 'If you're 28 years old and you don't want to work, you shouldn't expect free health care, if you can work,' Flood said. 'And that resonates with like 70% of people, that you'd have some work requirements.' Democrats believe the Trump law will cost Republicans the House majority in 2026, and they say Flood's hostile town hall is evidence of just how unpopular it is with voters. 'Every single vulnerable House Republican should follow Mike Flood's example and be brave enough to face their constituents in-person to see firsthand how unpopular and hated the Big, Ugly Law is,' said Viet Shelton, spokesman for the House Democrats' campaign committee. Flood, 50, the former speaker of the Nebraska House who was elected to Congress in 2022, also fielded tough questions about Trump's recent firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner and whether he backs releasing more information from the Jeffrey Epstein probe. He said he'll sign onto a resolution by House Rules Committee members on Wednesday to release the Epstein files. 'As long as it protects the victims and doesn't re-victimize those folks,' Flood said, 'I'm for its release.' But he opposes a bipartisan effort led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to bypass GOP leadership and force a vote on the floor in September to compel the Justice Department to release the files. 'I don't sign discharge petitions,' he said, 'and it goes back to my day as a speaker of the legislature, where I wouldn't do the same thing.' Nebraska is a red state that went for Trump by more than 20 points in 2024, but the university's Kimball Recital Hall on Monday evening was mostly packed with Democrats, said Flood, who recounted how he recognized some individuals who had attended all three of his town halls this year. A former attorney, Flood said he prepared for about five to six hours for the town hall, anticipating what questions he might get and how he'd respond. Before the event got started, he told the university police officers on hand he didn't want anyone kicked out of the town hall for exercising their First Amendment rights. Only one individual was told to leave after protesting the situation in Gaza, Flood said, and he left peacefully. 'I said, 'I don't want people kicked out or removed just for voicing an opinion, no matter how they voice it. If somebody is fighting somebody else, yes, do what you got to do,'' Flood said. 'When you look at the video, it looks pretty hardcore. People are literally screaming, flipping me off. They are jumping up and down. They are standing with their back to me,' he recounted. 'None of those folks get asked to leave. They don't. I don't even say, 'Please stop.'' Just a handful of lawmakers are choosing to hold town halls during the weekslong August recess. For many, there are few upsides. On the same night as the Flood town hall, veteran Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., had to abruptly cancel his town hall midway through after a group of protesters 'took over the stage' and disrupted the gathering, local police said. Three individuals were arrested on trespassing charges. Things were much tamer at a separate town hall hosted by freshman Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin in Michigan. At one point at his town hall, someone asked Flood: 'How are you helping the working class?' He talked about how the Trump law included no tax on tips, an expanded child tax credit and other provisions. Then he said something that infuriated many attendees: 'Today's Republican Party is comprised of the heart and soul of the working class.' 'That brought the house down. They were very upset that I said that," Flood told NBC News. "But that's the reality. ... Every day Americans recognize that something's changed in our country, where, as a Republican, we have won the hearts and minds of the working class. And that was very hard for the crowd to accept. But I think, to an objective person, if we haven't won their hearts and minds, we're darn close to it.'
Politico
9 minutes ago
- Politico
California's war with Texas gets real
STATE STANDOFF: The longstanding tension between California and Texas has gone from a dull hum to an all-out conflagration. Lone Star State Republicans' efforts to redraw their congressional map at the behest of President Donald Trump prompted Democratic lawmakers to abscond to New York, Illinois and Massachusetts in a last-ditch attempt to resist the maneuver. But it's California where Gov. Gavin Newsom's pledge to reconfigure districts to pick up Democratic seats could have a significant impact on the balance of power in Congress in the midterms. It's perhaps the biggest moment in the modern political battle between California and Texas, whose long-running feud has for years served mostly as a symbolic proxy war for Democrats and Republicans. Now, things are getting real. 'I'm not going to sit back any longer in the fetal position, a position of weakness, when in fact California can demonstrably advance strength,' Newsom said at a recent news conference. Things were less serious in 2014, when then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry drove through Sacramento in a Tesla to needle then-California Gov. Jerry Brown as the two were competing to host the company's battery plant. Perry had already run California radio ads promoting Texas' business-friendly climate, which Brown waved away as 'barely a fart.' Before Perry's L Street cruise, former GOP Assemblymember Chuck DeVore praised tax policies in Texas — a place he's since made his home. And he was hardly alone. Democratic leaders rail against Texas gun and abortion policies, while Republicans portray California as an overregulated nanny state plagued by crime and homelessness. 'Texas is an easy punching bag for liberals. California is an easy punching bag for conservatives,' Kevin Shuvalov, a Houston-based strategist, told POLITICO way back in 2017. Newsom is no stranger to this rhetoric. In 2022, he spent campaign money on billboard and newspaper ads touting California's abortion rights and denouncing Texas' gun-friendly politics. The same year, the governor signed legislation allowing Californians to sue people and companies that dispense banned guns — an answer to Texas' 'bounty'-style anti-abortion law that employed a similar legal mechanism. This time, Newsom's offensive could affect national politics far more than a billboard showing a woman in handcuffs. If he succeeds, California could pick up five Democratic congressional seats, a change the governor and House members say is necessary to combat GOP tactics. 'When Trump actually says he's at war, and the war's with Democrats, we're not bringing a butter knife to a gun fight,' San Diego Rep. Scott Peters told Playbook. IT'S TUESDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY KICK 'EM OUT: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced he's moving forward with plans to remove absent state Democrats from office, our Andrew Howard reports. Paxton said he would begin asking Texas courts on Friday to remove the Democrats if they do not return to Austin. 'Democrats have abandoned their offices by fleeing Texas, and a failure to respond to a call of the House constitutes a dereliction of their duty as elected officials,' Paxton said in a statement. 'Starting Friday, any rogue lawmakers refusing to return to the House will be held accountable for vacating their office. The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don't show up to work, you get fired.' The legal process to remove the lawmakers will likely take time. First, Paxton must file a case against each individual absent Democrat in various district courts, a process that would surely lead to appeals and could drag out long beyond the end of the special session on Aug. 19. IN OTHER NEWS CLOSING TIME: Newsom's administration yesterday announced it will close a Riverside County prison by fall 2026, following through on the governor's pledge to shutter a fourth state-owned facility. The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will shut down the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, which the agency estimates will save $150 million per year. Newsom has closed three state-owned prisons and a leased facility staffed by state corrections employees during his time in office. The governor announced plans to close another prison as a cost-cutting measure during his revised budget presentation in May. FOX'S ELEX-IT: Longtime Fox 11 Los Angeles anchor Elex Michaelson announced today he's leaving the station to 'pursue an exciting new opportunity.' Michaelson, who hosts the California politics show 'The Issue Is,' said in an X post that his last day will be Aug. 15. He said he's not allowed to share information about his next move 'just yet.' 'What I can talk my enormous gratitude to my incredibly talented FOX 11 colleagues, all the guests I've had the honor of interviewing, and so many of you for your support,' Michaelson said. WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — Los Angeles County chief executive Fesia Davenport warned the Board of Supervisors that the county is grappling with financial pressures that will require program cuts, including the potential closure of a public hospital. (LAist) — Families in Central California have been preparing for potential ICE raids by planning who they will call and who will take care of their kids. (The Fresno Bee) — AT&T, which provides much of California's landline service, has taken its battle to drop landline service to California customers to the legislature after regulators blocked its bid last year. (The Mercury News) AROUND THE STATE — Religious leaders and volunteers can now accompany people to San Diego's immigration court under a pilot program that focuses on offering spiritual support to those who need it. (The San Diego Union-Tribune) — The city of San Diego will use more than $8 million in settlement funds from SeaWorld's unpaid rent lawsuit to improve public parks, but some South Bay residents expressed disappointment that their communities weren't included. (inewsource) — A Los Angeles college's culinary program had an uptick in enrollment last academic year even as other programs and hundreds of restaurants in the region have shuttered. (The Los Angeles Times) — compiled by Juliann Ventura
