Dissidents claim to ‘have cops over a barrel' on notorious Derry bonfire
Republicans say that if cops attempt to remove the pyre, dissidents will claim 'two-tier policing' and point to how officers refused to take down an Eleventh Night loyalist bonfire in Belfast which was next to an asbestos dump and electricity substation which powers two hospitals.
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The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Voters hate Medicaid cuts. Now Republicans are backpedaling
But many of those same Republicans in Congress are now openly fretting about President Donald Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law on July 4. Some worry that it slashes Medicaid funding for the working poor. Some think it doesn't cut enough federal funding. And it adds $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Call this "Vote yes and second-guess." That's not exactly the vibe Trump was looking for from his political party for what he had hoped would be a summer victory tour to celebrate this and other early accomplishments in his second term. But here, Trump - and his party in next year's midterm elections - have a serious problem. Americans don't like his massive budget bill, which swaps short-term tax relief for some low-income working people for permanent tax cuts for America's wealthiest people. That's only going to get worse as Americans see what programs Trump and his Republican allies have defunded and where they are boosting federal spending. Trump is dumping money into immigration policies Americans don't like Consider immigration, a signature issue for Trump, which previously won him significant support among American voters in 2016 and 2024. He's seen a reversal of fortunes here. That's probably because so many of us are watching masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents indiscriminately grabbing people off the street to be deported with little or no due process under the law. What Trump touted as an effort to deport violent criminals who entered this country illegally has devolved into an oppressive spectacle as ICE agents snatch people who hold green cards or appear at immigration hearings. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on people, power and policies in the time of Trump from columnist Chris Brennan. Get it delivered to your inbox. Trump's new budget bill includes $170 billion for more of that over the next four years, with $76.5 billion going to ICE to detain people snatched off our streets and to add 10,000 new agents to a force that already has 20,000. How is that going to play across America? Gallup offered us a clue with a mid-July survey that showed a sizable shift in how Americans view immigration. Opinion: Trump's policies on immigration, economy and trade are unpopular with Americans In 2024, 55% of Americans told Gallup they thought immigration should be decreased. That dropped to 30% this year, after they saw Trump's approach on the issue. And a record high - 79% - of U.S. adults told Gallup that immigration is good for this country. That same survey found that 62% of Americans disapprove of Trump's immigration policies. And he's about to drive this country deep into debt to ramp up an approach Americans don't like. Now Republicans want you to believe they're saving Medicaid Then there is the Republican regret. You get the feeling Republicans in Congress want to increase funding either for a time machine to undo their vote or a device to make voters forget how those senators and representatives supported Trump's big, beautiful bill. This game of both sides is as desperate as it is hypocritical. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri wrote an essay for The New York Times in May expressing concerns about how the bill will slash Medicaid for the working poor. Then he voted for Trump's budget. Now he says he's trying to undo some of the harm he supported with new legislation. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska expressed concerns before folding to support Trump's budget. Murkowski's shameless bid to spread the blame, by urging Republicans in the U.S. House not to endorse the bill she had just endorsed, of course, fell on its face. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado touted her vote for Trump's budget in May. By late July, she was denouncing the government for not reducing the national debt. Opinion: MAGA is coming for Trump over lost Epstein files. Bondi may pay the price. U.S. Rep. Ted Cruz of Texas is among the legislators now calling to roll back the provision in Trump's budget that changes tax deductions for gamblers. Cruz's explanation for backtracking, according to NBC News: "Most Republicans didn't even know this was in the bill when they voted to pass it." Republicans are still spending our tax dollars recklessly Trump has assumed control of the Republican Party in Congress, where legislative leaders are careful to never act as an independent and coequal branch of government. They sing a song about making America great by cracking down on federal spending, while piling up the nation's debt. They're not spending less of your tax dollars. They're just making sure the super rich in America don't have to pay at the same rates as middle-class people. They're spending much, much more, just as Americans discover they like Trump's policies less and less every day. There's a cure for all this. It's called the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans in Congress are afraid of Trump. They really should be afraid of voters tossing them out of office for backing his budget. Follow USA TODAY columnist Chris Brennan on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ByChrisBrennan. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, Translating Politics, here.
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Can Cooper flip Tillis' NC Senate seat? I think so
North Carolina has been MAGA country since 2016, when President Donald Trump first won the state. The past two U.S. Senate races were expensive and disappointing for Democrats. Within the state, partisan gerrymandering and a voter ID law make it harder for Democrats to win. While Cooper isn't the singular answer to slowing Republican dominance in the state, he is the first candidate in a long time who seems to have a fighting chance. Roy Cooper's economic track record is good for everybody North Carolina's economy, once burdened by the decline of factory and agriculture jobs, thrived under Cooper's leadership. During his two terms as governor, the state added more than 640,000 jobs from companies like Toyota, Apple and Eli Lilly. The state was also ranked America's Top State for Business by CNBC for two consecutive years based on economic investments, its workforce and the state's debt management. Opinion: Men don't like how Trump treats the economy. Democrats must cash in on that. "For too many Americans, the middle class feels like a distant dream," Cooper says in the video announcing his campaign. "Meanwhile, the biggest corporations and the richest Americans have grabbed unimaginable wealth at your expense." If his first ad is any indication, the Senate candidate seems to be running on a populist message that is likely to resonate. It's a move that Democrats have been shy to make as they crumble under the MAGA reign, but it's a move that could fare well in a state dominated by Republicans. Republicans cut Medicaid. Cooper expanded access for North Carolinians. A crowning achievement of Cooper's tenure as governor is the state's expansion of Medicaid in 2023, which brought coverage to an additional 600,000 North Carolinians. He fought for that expansion for years. Considering that Medicaid is one of the things Republicans in Congress placed on the chopping block recently, Cooper's hand in bringing access to more North Carolinians is sure to bode well for the former governor. Democrats, again, could learn from this: It's not enough to talk about social issues. Medicaid just got cut in the federal spending bill, and hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians will likely lose coverage, including those who benefited from Medicaid expansion. This is an issue they can win on, and one that would show they care about what everyday Americans are facing. The simplest reason? Roy Cooper's actually likable. Cooper's biggest draw, however, may be how deeply his roots are in the state. He grew up in Nash County and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a lawyer and Sunday School teacher in Rocky Mount before entering politics. He spent several Halloweens dressed up as Sheriff Andy Taylor from "The Andy Griffith Show." He's taken other Democrats to Cook Out for fast foods on the campaign trail. He's such a North Carolinian, in fact, that I wondered if he'd ever take the plunge into national politics. "I never really wanted to go to Washington," Cooper says in his announcement video. "I just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina right here, where I've lived all my life. But these are not ordinary times." Opinion: Tillis' departure signifies troubling shift. Can any Republican stand up to Trump? It's a reminder to the national Democratic Party that a quality candidate is also a candidate who loves where they're from. A candidate with deep roots in the community is a candidate who can win elections. There's still merit to the idea that a good candidate is someone you can imagine drinking a beer on the front porch with, especially in the South. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. Cooper is clearly a promising candidate who could break through the Republican stronghold in a state that's gone for Trump three elections in a row. But he'll face an uphill battle in the form of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who was selected by Trump. Republicans are already on the attack, accusing the former governor of "dragging North Carolina left," criticizing his vetoes and complaining that he competently handled the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, this is the same governor who got more votes than Trump in the 2020 election - his odds are better than one might expect for a purple state. Cooper's finances are already showing the promise of his Senate campaign, as he raised $3.4 million in the first 24 hours, setting a fundraising record. If people can get behind a liberal Democrat from rural North Carolina, imagine what would happen if there were candidates of this caliber in all battleground states. Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeno on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
Gavin Newsom may call special election to redraw California congressional maps
California's governor, Gavin Newsom, may call a special election in November to begin the process of redrawing the state's congressional maps in response to Texas's plans to change its own maps to help Republicans keep their majority in the House of Representatives. Donald Trump is pushing Texas and other Republican-dominated states to carry out mid-decade redistricting that will favor the GOP and potentially stop Democrats from retaking control of the House in next year's midterm elections. Governors in Democratic-led states have responded by warning they will move to redo their own maps if Texas goes ahead with its plans, which could create an additional five Republican-leaning districts. California is viewed as the best opportunity for Democrats to pick up seats through gerrymandering, but voters will first have to approve changes to an independent redistricting commission that was given the power to draw congressional districts in 2010. Speaking at a Thursday press conference, Newsom said 'a special election would be called, likely to be the first week of November' to approve the changes. 'We will go to the people of this state in a transparent way and ask them to consider the new circumstances, to consider these new realities,' the governor added. The party out of power typically regains control of the House in a president's first midterm election, as the Republicans did under Joe Biden in 2022 and Barack Obama in 2010, and Democrats did during Trump's first term in 2018. Newsom argued that another two years of unified Republican control of Congress would be especially harmful for California, noting that Los Angeles residents were still waiting for lawmakers to approve aid from the wildfires that ravaged the region earlier this year. 'They're doing a midterm rejection of objectivity and independence, an act that we could criticize from the sideline, or an act that we can respond to in kind – fight fire with fire,' Newsom said. While Republicans could gain the most seats by redrawing Texas's maps, Ohio, another red state, must also redraw its maps before next year's election, and there's talk of redistricting to the GOP's advantage in Missouri and Indiana. Democrats are seen as having a more difficult path to improving their odds of winning the House majority through redistricting, often due to their states' embrace of independent commissions intended to draw fair congressional amps. Voters created the California citizens redistricting commission in 2008 to draw its legislative maps, and in 2010 expanded its powers to congressional districts. Newsom said, 'We're not here to eliminate the commission,' but rather to respond to what he described as 'the rigging of the system by the president of the United States. 'And it won't just happen in Texas. I imagine he's making similar calls all across this country. It's a big deal. I don't think it gets much bigger,' Newsom said.
