House passes ‘freedom from leg cramps' bill to allow WV motorcyclists to stand while driving
Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, speaks on the House floor March 19, 2025, in support of a bill that would permit motorcyclists to stand while operating their vehicle. (West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Motorcyclists would be able to stand up while operating their vehicle, according to a bill that passed the House of Delegates Wednesday.
'This is a freedom from leg cramps bill,' said Del. Chris Phillips, R-Barbour, a co-sponsor of the legislation.
House Bill 2752 would allow riders to operate a motorcycle or moped while standing as long as the rider is facing forward with their feet on the pedals. It is currently banned under state law.
According to Phillips, citations have been issued for motorcyclists who weren't seated while driving.
The bill passed the House 80-17, but not before Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, criticized the GOP supermajority for what he said was another unnecessary piece of legislation this session.
'Another hard hitting piece of legislation here in the House of Delegates,' Fluharty said. 'If we lined up all the bills that did nothing for the state of West Virginia, Evel Knievel would struggle himself to make it over it. This is insane.'
Bill sponsor Del. Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, said standing up would help motorcyclists with enhanced visibility, better balance and additional shock absorption on rough terrain. Motorcyclists are instructed to stand up in certain situations as part of their required instruction to obtain a motorcycle license, she said.
'This isn't the ability to do tricks or anything,' she said. 'This bill is necessary. We are seeking to match up our state law with what is given in the courses that everyone has to take.'
House members engaged in a lengthy debate Tuesday about a proposed bill amendment that would have also removed the helmet requirement for motorcyclists over age 21. Current state law requires all motorcyclists to wear protective headgear, regardless of age.
Several lawmakers in support of the amendment said it was 'a freedom' issue.
Del. Dave Foggin, R-Wood, sponsored the amendment, saying, 'It's about the personal choice for an adult to wear a helmet when they're riding a motorcycle.'
Other lawmakers said that the current law hurt the state's tourism industry since Ohio and Kentucky do not have a motorcycle helmet requirement.
The House rejected the amendment after hearing concerns from some lawmakers about rider safety.
'It saves lives,' said Del. John Paul Hott, R-Grant.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
4 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Daybreak: Trump-Musk Feud
On today's podcast: 1) Elon Musk and President Donald Trump engage in a public dispute the traded personal barbs and weighed down Tesla stock and Musk's personal wealth. The dispute began over differences on the GOP tax legislation, with Musk opposing the bill and Trump accusing Musk of being motivated by self-interest. After Tesla shares tanked 14% and Musk's personal wealth dropped by $34 billion, Musk signaled a willingness to cool tensions with Trump, responding to a user's advice to "cool off and take a step back for a couple days" with "Good advice." 2) Tensions appear to be easing between the US and China. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to further trade talks to resolve disputes over tariffs and rare earth minerals. The two leaders had a 90-minute call, during which Trump acknowledged that the trade relationship with China had gotten "a little off track" but said they are now "in very good shape" with a trade deal. 3) Investors brace for a critical May Jobs Report. Traders are awaiting the key monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which may reinforce expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at least twice this year.
Politico
26 minutes ago
- Politico
The Trump-Musk divorce gets ugly
Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Bethany Irvine On this morning's podcast, I talk with Zack Stanton about the explosive details in the Trump-Musk blow-up, digging into all the behind-the-scenes attitudes and views in Trump world and beyond. Happy Friday. This is Adam Wren. How about those Indiana Pacers, who mounted a 15-point, fourth-quarter comeback over the heavily favored Oklahoma City Thunder last night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals? Get in touch. 2028 WATCH: This week's episode of 'The Conversation with Dasha Burns' doesn't drop until Sunday morning (subscribe to the podcast), but we have an early glimpse from her interview with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Even as some younger voters and more progressive segments of the party are looking for alternative voices, Emanuel vows not to 'run away' from his background by distancing himself from former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He believes his connections to both men are an asset as he maps out his own future and that of the Democratic Party. Watch the preview clip … More from POLITICO's Gregory Svirnovskiy In today's Playbook … — Trump aides have a call with Musk today to attempt to deescalate the conflict … — … but not everyone in MAGA circles wants a truce. — The pain points to watch today on the GOP megabill. DRIVING THE DAY TRUMP'S THIRD DIVORCE: Donald Trump rose to national prominence on the crosscurrents of divorces in which messy details catapulted him onto the front pages of New York's tabloids. Now, Trump is in the throes of another kind of divorce — this time, to Elon Musk — and it's potentially his biggest and costliest one yet. Today … White House aides will hold a call with Musk in an attempt to 'broker a peace' between the two sides, Playbook's Dasha Burns reports. The potential for an uneasy truce comes after Trump and Musk spent the better part of Thursday volleying threats and accusations — more on that in a moment — prompting aides for both men to try to temper their public criticisms of one another. But not everyone wants a detente. In our running conversations last night with senior administration officials and Republicans with close ties to Trump, the White House was absolutely dumping on Musk, even as press secretary Karoline Leavitt took to Sean Hannity's show to talk about dialing down tensions. The view from Trump world: 'The president is worried Elon is not well … and is just kind of freaking out,' a person close to the White House told Dasha. 'But he's still Trump, so he'll punch at whoever punches him if think he needs it.' … 'Everyone knew this was gonna end badly,' a senior administration official said of the Musk-Trump relationship. 'We're dealing with someone who is unstable … we saw it coming. We have one president — one person got elected.' The view from the MAGA right: 'The president treated him almost like a son,' Steve Bannon, Musk's longtime antagonist in the larger Trump orbit, told Playbook yesterday as part of a long, 'I told you so' victory lap. 'He invited his family to Christmas dinner. He let him sleep over. He let him walk in and out of meetings. The president went to the max informality to welcome this guy.' Bannon added: 'You're going to tell me we should allow some fucking punk to sit there and say he should be impeached and [VP] JD [Vance] should step in? Fuck you, dude. We're going to go to fucking war, and I'm going to rip your fucking face off.' Where Bannon wants to go: 'Peter Navarro — and I've recommended, and I hope he's drafting executive orders even as we speak — should implement the Defense Production Act to seize both SpaceX and Starlink and put them under government management until that time that all investigations into Musk are complete,' Bannon told Playbook. He has called for investigations into Musk's immigration status, security clearance, drug use and supposed involvement with the Chinese Communist Party, among other allegations. X marks the fraught: If any of that sounds like a surprising escalation to you, then you might've missed Musk's tirade on X yesterday, which is still reverberating across official Washington. By now, you've seen Musk's posts — there were more than 40 of them throughout the day and into the evening — including ones in which he accused Trump of appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files (pegging that as the reason for their non-release), said 'Trump would have lost the election' without him, predicted Trump's tariffs 'will cause a recession,' and so on. … And you've seen, too, Trump's response, threatening on Truth Social to 'terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.' Here's what you haven't heard … MEET THE MILLERS: Inside the White House, frustration at Katie Miller is widespread. Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and former DOGE spokesperson, is now working for Musk directly, Playbook has learned. But apparently, the arrangement isn't altogether new. 'What drove people here crazy was Katie Miller, and the fact that she was on Elon's payroll the whole time she was an [special government employee] here,' one administration official tells Playbook. 'And, like … who was she looking out for?' (Miller did not return Playbook's text messages when asked for comment.) FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — THE SHRUG: Inside the GOP, Musk's implicit threat to not fund Republicans is being met by shrugs, with allegiance to Trump far greater than affinity toward Musk, as POLITICO's Andrew Howard and your author write this morning. Yes, there are cases where his scorched-earth strategy could force divided loyalties — as with the fact that two of Trump's top campaign strategists, Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio, had already signed up to work with Musk's Building America's Future PAC. But Republicans we spoke with said they hadn't expected to have Musk's money in next year's cycle, and complained that America PAC — the tech billionaire's super PAC — didn't spend its money effectively in House races last year. 'I was never under the assumption that Elon would help fund our budget, precisely because he's so temperamental, erratic, and unpredictable,' a senior Republican official involved in GOP races told Dasha. 'Elon couldn't buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat,' said another person close to the White House. 'You really think that people are gonna be afraid of this money?' THE WORRY: Top Republicans seem less worried about the potential campaign implications than the policy implications of the Musk-Trump divorce — especially as it relates to the Republican megabill winding its way through the Capitol, which Trump desperately wants to sign into law, and Musk vehemently opposes. Yesterday, Musk's hail of fire was aimed in part at Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. And that matters because of the moment we're in. 'You don't want the world's richest guy with the biggest megaphone shitting on the bill in crunchtime,' one senior Hill leader told Playbook. Put simply: 'Elon doesn't need to persuade most Republicans. Just a few,' the Hill leader told Playbook. 'And if he spends [the] next few weeks shitting on the bill, that will move the numbers.' (More on the reconciliation bill shortly.) HOW TRUMP IS THINKING ABOUT IT ALL: Late last night, Dasha spoke briefly on the phone with the president for an exclusive interview. 'Oh it's OK,' Trump said when asked about the very public split with Musk. 'It's going very well, never done better.' Breaking up like this isn't an entirely unfamiliar experience for the president. 'Taking advantage of bad breakups and any resultant 'bad' publicity — he's been here before. He has a proven track record,' POLITICO's resident Trumpologist Michael Kruse writes into Playbook. But it's unclear whether Trump can consciously uncouple from Musk without incurring deep and lasting collateral damage. 'The person on the other side of that equation has never been the richest man in the world who also owns one of the most important social media platforms in the world,' Michael tells us. 'That's different.' ON THE HILL RECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES: Musk's attacks on the reconciliation megabill have been a headache for Johnson, who has scrambled to parry the billionaire's criticisms this week. But there's no guarantee that they'll be more than that: As POLITICO's Meredith Lee Hill reports, Hill Republicans are more loyal to Trump. 'I don't think [Musk's] killing the bill,' one House member says. 'I'm more worried he's killing our sales pitch.' (Read more on the scramble from our Inside Congress colleagues.) But that doesn't mean Thune has an easy path to pass the bill in the Senate, between competing concerns from fiscal hawks, moderates and blue-state House members. So in addition to Musk's X account, these are the latest pain points to watch today: SALT: Trump indicated to senators that he'd be OK with a lower state and local tax deduction, WaPo's Jeff Stein and colleagues scooped. That would give the Senate a fiscal boost — but could be anathema to the SALT advocates from high-tax states in the House. Business tax cuts: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Trump was also open to keeping business tax break extensions temporary, POLITICO's Brian Faler reports. That would lower the price tag, but top Hill Republicans are insistent on making them permanent. In fact, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) told The Daily Caller News Foundation's Adam Pack and Andi Shae Napier that this a red line — he'd vote no without permanence. More movement: The Senate Commerce Committee released its portion of the bill text, POLITICO's John Hendel and Anthony Adragna report. It changes the House's 10-year outright ban on states regulating AI to instead block federal broadband funding for states that pass AI laws, and it includes a compromise on spectrum auctions. … Meanwhile, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) is trying to get cryptocurrency tax changes included, Semafor's Eleanor Mueller and Burgess Everett report. Solar companies are lobbying to save a crucial subsidy for home panels, per Reuters, while even oil companies are trying to save clean hydrogen tax credits, per the FT. Digging into the details: Republicans' effort to pass the bill — and sell it to Americans — won't be helped by a series of tough analyses dissecting the impact of its spending and cutting. Roughly 4 million people kicked off Obamacare, per the CBO … $3 trillion more to the national debt, including $550 billion in additional interest payments, per the CBO … 22 million children partially or fully excluded from the Child Tax Credit expansion because their families don't earn enough, per a new Columbia study … And Senate Dems argued that changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit will add more red tape for low-income families, per Axios' Emily Peck. IN THE DOGE HOUSE AFTER ELON: Musk may be gone, but the revolution he oversaw in the federal government is very much alive. And there are major decisions for Congress, courts and the administration about how much to maintain in the days and weeks to come. With early analyses estimating that abrupt foreign aid cuts have already led to many deaths abroad — potentially tens or hundreds of thousands, though the administration denies there are any — $12 million of HIV-prevention and contraception supplies could be destroyed amid USAID hang-ups, WaPo's Meg Kelly and colleagues revealed. On the Hill: The deadline is July 18 for Congress to act on the White House's rescissions request to ax money for foreign aid, NPR and PBS, the Senate parliamentarian advised, per POLITICO's Jennifer Scholtes. Here, too, lifesaving HIV prevention work (PEPFAR in this case) will be a key fight. Corps workout: Efforts to gut AmeriCorps and Job Corps are hitting obstacles. A federal judge barred the dismantling of AmeriCorps in roughly half the country, saving the program for now and ordering the reinstatement of grants in 24 Democratic-led states and D.C. that sued, POLITICO's Ben Johansen and Sophia Cai report. … House Dems grilled Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer about her effort to shutter Job Corps centers, per AP's Cathy Bussewitz, while alumni and faculty worried about vulnerable young people who depend on the program, NBC's Megan Lebowitz reports. Lasting impact: Even after the U.S. Institute of Peace won against DOGE in court, it's been hard for the think tank to put back together what DOGE broke — 'a cautionary tale' for other agencies, AP's Gary Fields reports. At NASA, scientists are freaking out about a Trump budget proposal to change a storied climate lab, CNN's Andrew Freedman reports. But some Senate Republicans want to shield other NASA programs eyed for reductions by Trump, WSJ's Micah Maidenberg scooped. BEST OF THE REST JOBS DAY: Will a recent streak of economic data surpassing economists' forecasts continue today with the May jobs report? The number to watch at 8:30 a.m. is 125,000, the median prediction in Bloomberg's survey. That would constitute a softening from April. At the same time, economists are starting to worry about whether DOGE cuts will make other government stats less precise, CNN's Alicia Wallace reports: The Bureau of Labor Statistics is now collecting inflation information from three fewer cities. IMMIGRATION FILES: Stephen Miller's rebukes may be paying off, as the number of ICE arrests has leapt to 2,000 a day earlier this week and now topped 100,000 since Trump took office, CBS' Camilo Montoya-Galvez scooped. But the legal fights continue: A novel lawsuit from immigrant rights groups argues that the fundamental U.S.-El Salvador deal for the latter country to take in deportees without due process was illegal, per NYT's Alan Feuer. And the first immigrant to be tried for crossing into Trump's new military zone at the border was acquitted, The Texas Tribune's Uriel García reports. TRAVEL BAN FALLOUT: Trump's new travel ban was crafted to stand up better in court than his initial first-term version did, POLITICO's Myah Ward and Hassan Ali Kanu report, and so far the reaction has been much quieter than in 2017, when the ban stunned America and unleashed major protests. That's also partially due to the public growing much more anti-immigrant in recent years. Indeed, Senate Dems tell NOTUS' Torrence Banks they consider it a messaging distraction from their current focus on the reconciliation bill. SCHOOL DAZE: Harvard is fighting back against Trump's effort to bar its foreign students, asking a federal judge to stop this 'unlawful evasion' of her previous order, per The Crimson's Samuel Church and colleagues. Separately, UC Berkeley faculty filed a first-of-its-kind suit over the administration's research funding cuts, NBC's Tyler Kingkade scooped. WAR IN UKRAINE: Senate Republicans are moving closer to passing an intense Russia sanctions package. But with Trump sounding increasingly unwilling to ramp up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, this could be a crucial test for the pro-Ukraine faction of the Senate GOP: 'Is there anything on which they will force Trump's hand?' POLITICO's Jonathan Martin writes this morning. 'Probably not, but Putin may be the only person who can force the issue.' Some senators think passing the bill in their chamber, even if Trump doesn't sign it into law, bolsters his leverage against Putin. JAMES COMER'S NEXT MOVE: The House Oversight chair subpoenaed Kevin O'Connor, who was the White House doctor for Joe Biden, for a deposition this month, per CNN. It's the latest escalation in the Kentucky Republican's investigation of Biden's acuity. Comer said O'Connor had refused to come voluntarily. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Deep in the heart: Texas State Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic seminarian and frequently viral millennial pastor in training, is being urged to consider a U.S. Senate run, according to two people who have spoken with him in recent days. Talarico is not expected to make an immediate decision anytime soon. Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz by almost 9 points last year, is also said to be looking at a run against Sen. John Cornyn. Talarico has sought the counsel of operatives such as Lis Smith and Andrew Mamo, two former Pete Buttigieg advisers. — Meanwhile, in Indiana: Add another Republican to the shadow 2028 mix: Gov. Mike Braun, the wealthy former U.S. senator in his first term, has privately discussed the idea of mounting his own presidential campaign, according to three Republicans familiar with his thinking. The governor has maintained a national profile on Fox News and just finished his first legislative session. A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. THE WEEKEND AHEAD TV TONIGHT — PBS' 'Washington Week': special edition about Trump and the Middle East with Thomas Friedman. SUNDAY SO FAR … POLITICO 'The Conversation with Dasha Burns': Rahm Emanuel. Fox News 'Sunday Morning Futures': Interior Secretary Doug Burgum … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) … Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). CNN 'State of the Union': Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). Panel: Bakari Sellers, Xochitl Hinojosa, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). MSNBC 'The Weekend: Primetime': Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) … New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. NBC 'Meet the Press': Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) … Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Olivia Munn. Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Sara Fagen, Symone Sanders Townsend and Melanie Zanona. CBS 'Face the Nation': Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Janti Soeripto. NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday,' guest-anchored by Blake Burman: Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) … Neil Bradley. Panel: Kellie Meyer, Tyler Pager, Jason Willick and John Tamny. TALK OF THE TOWN Kamala Harris stopped by a Compton high school graduation, sitting on stage but not giving a speech. Donald Trump's New Jersey golf club got written up for health violations, earning one of the worst ratings in its county before fixes. The manager, naturally, called the inspection political. Gavin Newsom and Jon Voight met yesterday to talk about bringing Hollywood productions back to California, POLITICO's Melanie Mason scooped. YOU'LL CLICK FASTER THAN AN ELON POST — 'The Plastic Surgery Procedure Booming Among Washington Men,' by POLITICO Magazine's Joanna Weiss: 'The surgeons and dermatologists who treat the D.C. power class will never share their patients' secrets; some doctors strategically time surgeries during congressional recess, and many go out of their way to make sure their clients aren't even seen entering the office, using a spy-movie-like web of hidden entries and secret back doors. But they will also tell you that, among the political power set, jaws are currently hot.' THERE GOES THE GAYBORHOOD — Dupont Circle Park will end up closed for WorldPride this weekend, per NBC Washington's Mark Segraves. The National Park Service and Park Police made the call, despite an outcry from locals about the storied spot's closure during the festivities. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — For Trump's military parade on his June 14 birthday, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport will pause more than 100 flights in the evening, WaPo's Lori Aratani and colleagues report. Beyond disruptions to travelers, some GOP senators aren't thrilled with the cost to taxpayers, POLITICO's Lisa Kashinsky and colleagues report. 'I would have recommended against the parade,' said Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (Miss.). 'If it costs money, I won't go,' said Ron Johnson (Wis.). FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson are coming out with a new book, 'Swap: A Secret History of the New Cold War,' about the spy war and hostage-release negotiations between the U.S. and Russia. The WSJ reporters and Pulitzer finalists will delve into 'the Kremlin's decade-long game of human poker' and how the releases of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Brittney Griner and almost Alexei Navalny happened. It publishes Aug. 19 from HarperCollins. The cover OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Indian Ambassador Vinay Kwatra's residence last night for a dinner to honor a delegation of Indian parliamentarians: Seb Gorka, Ricky Gill, Wolf Blitzer, Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), Randy Fine (R-Fla.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Rich McCormick (R-Ga.), Lindsey Ford, Gina Raimondo, Rishi Iyengar and Eric Bazail-Eimil. — SPOTTED at a Q Street reception last night for WorldPride, recognizing members of the Congressional Equality Caucus: Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), Julie Johnson (D-Texas), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Riley Kilburg, Stu Malec, Yesenia Henninger, Jenny Kane, Suzanne Beall, Rob Curis, Brendan Neal, David Reid, Steve Elmendorf, John Michael González, Andy Flick, Diego Zambrano, Rhett Buttle, Katie Vlietstra Wonnenberg, Andrew Wright, John Lee, Bo Morris, Joe Hack, Jacob Long, Aaron Schmidt, Mitchell Rivard and Jordan Dashow. — SPOTTED at the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association's 150th-anniversary celebration at Union Station last night: Reps. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Mike Ezell (R-Miss.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Liz Shuler, Fred Redmond, Adam Vokac, Roland Rexha, Dennis Daggett, Dave Heindel, Don Josberger, William Barrere, Tom Ferguson and Shari Semelsberger. — SPOTTED at a plaque unveiling for British Ambassador Peter Mandelson at Butterworth's last night: Matt Boyle, Raheem Kassam, Roma Daravi, Alex Butterworth, Tom Rogan, Bradley Jaye, Matt McDonald, Kara Voght, Natalie Allison, Freddie Hayward, Ed Roman, Senay Bulbul, Katy Balls, Antonia Hitchens, Sarakshi Rai, CJ Pearson, Laura Nasim and Natalie Winters. — SPOTTED at the Entertainment Software Association's Capitol Hill video game showcase and evening reception: Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Reps. Darren Soto (D-Fla.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Elizabeth Verrill, Jenni Katzman, Matt Skelton, Cinnamon Rogers, Stanley Pierre-Louis and Stan McCoy. — SPOTTED at a reception hosted by YouTube last night to celebrate the newly launched Congressional Creators Caucus with co-lead Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) at the CTA Innovation House: Game Theorists, Mark Rober, Dr. Tracey Marks, NothingButTech, Isaac Rochell, Brian McLogan, Milad Mirg, Anthony O'Neal, Pokimane, Fitness Marshall, Javoris Hollingsworth, Kati Morton and Gohar Khan. TRANSITIONS — Gavin Proffitt is now a health policy adviser for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). He previously was a health policy adviser for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. … Julianne Heberlein is now a speechwriter and press adviser for Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.). She previously was comms director for Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and is a Larry Hogan alum. … Shelly O'Neill Stoneman has launched StonePoint Strategies, a strategic consulting firm. She previously was SVP of government affairs at Lockheed Martin. … … Chelsea Blink is now legislative director for Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.). She previously was director of farm animal legislation at the ASPCA. … Reedy Newton is now director of operations for Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.). She previously was scheduler for Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and is an NRSC alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth … Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) ... Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) (5-0) … Alexander Vindman (5-0) … ABC's Katherine Faulders … Bloomberg's Justin Sink … CNN's Kevin Liptak and Ariel Edwards-Levy … CBS' Weijia Jiang and Natalie Morales … WaPo's Christopher Rowland … Fabiana Corsi Mendez of Rep. Eugene Vindman's (D-Va.) office … Sarah Frostenson … Allison Hageman … Ward Baker … Michael Goldfarb … Margaret White of No Labels ... Max Docksey … former Reps. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), David Bonior (D-Mich.) (8-0) and Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) (8-0) … Regina LaBelle ... POLITICO's Kam Rahman and Gabby Miller ... CQ's Caroline Simon Coudriet … Allie Freedman … Felicia Sonmez … Sarah Gadsden … Keith Perine … Jeanette Nuñez … Tiffany Rose … Julia Masterman of Angerholzer Broz Consulting Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
Newsweek
30 minutes ago
- Newsweek
How Democrats Can Stop Alienating Young Men: Some Unsolicited Advice
Last November, Donald Trump soundly defeated Kamala Harris among young men 18 to 29 years old, racking up about 56% of their votes according to the Associated Press. That represents a huge decline from 2008, the climax of the Barack Obama coalition, when the Democratic candidate won 62% of the young male vote against GOP challenger John McCain. Clearly, Democrats have a young man problem—and they've vowed to do something about it. Accordingly, the party is spending $20 million on a special multiyear effort called "Speaking With American Men: A Strategic Plan." The project, The New York Times recently reported, will "study the syntax, language, and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces." Yes, really. Hold your laughter. It's true that leading Democratic figures could use some help on the "syntax" and "language" fronts. They might begin to right the ship, on that score, by ditching the infamous gobbledygook "gaffes" of Joe Biden and the "unburdened by what has been" word salads of Harris. But the rubber will meet the road for Democrats when it comes to the critical, elusive third category of concern for their new young male outreach effort: content. To paraphrase a venerable saying, one can put lipstick on a pig, but the pig, at the end of the day, is still a pig. And something big has to change for the Democrats. Nor is their problem limited to young men; the party's overall favorability ratings, in recent months, have hit record lows in public polling. Here, Democrats, is some (entirely) unsolicited advice on steps you might consider taking to become less catastrophically unpopular with young men—and many other Americans too. On the issue of sexuality and the human person, you might consider beginning your vaunted young male outreach efforts by deigning to properly define what exactly a "man" is—and, by extension, what a "woman" is as well. Indeed, your party's most recent Supreme Court nominee publicly struggled to crack this case. It is probably best, before attempting to devise pro-young-man public policy ideas, to familiarize yourselves with your target audience. The definition of "man" as it has existed since the Garden of Eden is a pretty good place to start. A 2021 Marist poll has found that more Americans find the Democratic Party to be a bigger threat to democracy than the Republican Party. Here, a donkey, the animal mascot of the Democratic Party, can... A 2021 Marist poll has found that more Americans find the Democratic Party to be a bigger threat to democracy than the Republican Party. Here, a donkey, the animal mascot of the Democratic Party, can be seen. More Leigh Vogel/Getty After successfully defining "man" and "woman," you might consider not indulging recurring grievances levied against so-called toxic masculinity. It is generally a good idea, in political outreach, to not hold in dripping disdain the demographic group you are trying to reach. Sure, men have been killing each other since Cain slew Abel, but many of them have also been doing some pretty good things for humanity since around that same time period. One key to publicly rejecting misandry will be ditching support for "diversity, equity, and inclusion" initiatives, which, along with also now being illegal, invariably take a pretty dim view of the heterogametic sex. On the issue of immigration, you might consider not opening up America's borders to, well, pretty much the whole world—but especially young males in search of economic opportunity in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Democrats might not have gotten this impression from the Harvard faculty lounge, but over half of Americans these days live paycheck to paycheck. Far too many young men struggle to provide for their families; indeed, many delay marriage in the first place because of finances. Flooding the zone with more wage competition may please the wokerati, but it won't help you regain credibility with American breadwinners. On the issue of environmentalism, you might consider not so conspicuously sacrificing American energy on the altar of climate alarmism. The young male voter simply wants a fair shot to make a decent living and provide safety and security for his family. The ham-handed restriction of hydrocarbon extraction does more than anything else to spike the price of every good or service. You might think that Trump's tariffs are a threat to price stability, but you'd be wrong—at least so far. The real threat to the fiscal well-being of the median American comes from the price of energy, from which all other prices flow. Maybe, just maybe, don't sacrifice all that on the altar of "Mother Earth"? The good news for Democrats is that there is a lot of potential upside from their efforts to reach young men. The bad news for Democrats is the same: There's so much to gain precisely because of how unpopular they currently are with that cohort. Josh Hammer is Newsweek senior editor-at-large, host of "The Josh Hammer Show," senior counsel for the Article III Project, a research fellow with the Edmund Burke Foundation, and author of the new book, Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West (Radius Book Group). Subscribe to "The Josh Hammer Report," a Newsweek newsletter. X: @josh_hammer. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
