Latest news with #Azinger
Politico
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The state where Democrats have hit rock bottom
Presented by CANARY IN A COALMINE — If West Virginia had a Mount Rushmore, the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in American history, would be on it. Even before he died in 2010, his name was everywhere in the state — on bridges, roads, federal buildings, libraries, hospitals and even a space telescope — leading to much chortling during his lifetime about all the things in West Virginia paid for by taxpayers but named after the pork-loving Byrd. For much of his career, West Virginia was a Democratic state. Now it's one of the reddest states on the map. In a measure of how far to the right West Virginia has veered over the past two decades, Republican lawmakers now want to remove a statue of Byrd from a prominent spot in the statehouse. The experience is a cautionary tale for national Democrats, who are reeling in the aftermath of the 2024 elections and desperate to reconnect with the party's blue collar heritage. West Virginia is a model of working class voter alienation from the national Democratic Party — and an extreme example of the consequences. It's easy to forget that when Democratic lawmakers unveiled the Byrd statue in 1997, West Virginia was solidly blue. Bill Clinton had just carried the state in the presidential election. But soon after that the Democratic hold on the state began to loosen, and since Byrd's death in 2010, the state Democratic Party has cratered. Today, the governor, every other statewide elected official and the two-member congressional delegation are Republican. Donald Trump won all 55 counties last fall. There are only 11 Democrats left in the 134-member legislature. Now the 10-foot bronze Byrd statue is literally one of the last Democrats standing in the state. In recent years, Byrd's name has come off a few buildings, including a manufacturing institute at Marshall University and a student health center at a private college in the state's Northern Panhandle. State Senate Republicans have made several attempts to remove or replace the Byrd statue, with the newest push coming from Republican state Sen. Michael Azinger, who introduced a bill this month to replace it with one of George Washington and fill other prominent corners of the Capitol with statues of Abraham Lincoln, James Madison and Arthur Boreman, the state's first governor. Azinger has a history of throwing shade at Byrd. In 2017, he was the sole senator to vote against a resolution honoring Byrd's 100th birthday. Azinger did not respond to a request for comment. A separate bill last year would have set aside $300,000 for a similar replacement plan, but now the state has a $400 million budget hole, so commissioning and installing such figures could be hard to justify at the moment. Plus, the Capitol has already been mired in controversy over another recent remodel that included a mural with an English bulldog that bears an uncanny resemblance to Babydog, the favored political prop of GOP Sen. Jim Justice, the former governor who was recently elected to the seat once held by Byrd. Close to 30 years after its unveiling, it's hard to imagine the statehouse without Byrd's likeness. The statue, by a sculptor from central West Virginia, stands out. There he is, Byrd, looming over the events of the day. When Byrd died at age 92, his body was brought into the rotunda to lay in state. The statue was already there, making Byrd probably one of the few people in history whose body was carried past their own metal likeness. But his past as a Ku Klux Klan member in the early 1940s and his 14-hour filibuster of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — both of which he would disavow in his later years — has certainly haunted his legacy. 'We have a statue in the rotunda of someone who fought the civil rights movement,' state Sen. Jason Barrett, a Republican, said during a recent committee hearing. Yet Byrd's story is far more complicated. A one-time Democratic Senate majority leader, he reshaped his legacy into one liberals could love by forcefully opposing the 2003 war in Iraq and becoming an early backer of Barack Obama's first campaign for president. He rooted his opposition of the war in Iraq to the mistake he made voting for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution. When he died, the NAACP mourned his passing and Obama praised his capacity to change, learn, listen and 'be made more perfect.' Sam Petsonk, a former Byrd staffer and DNC committee member from the state, said the fight over the statue is the product of reactionary politicians trying to ignore Byrd's hard-won lessons. 'The movement to erase all of the lessons that Sen. Byrd stands for about the Constitution, the separation of powers and the importance of learning from our own hard history — that movement is very real,' he said. Former Rep. Nick Rahall, who started his career as a Byrd aide, said he would stand guard by the bronze Byrd if he had too. 'There's no way I'm going to sit still and let the Robert C. Byrd statue be moved out of our state Capitol,' he said. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at rrivard@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ryrivard. What'd I Miss? — Trump and Vance attack Zelenskyy in remarkable Oval Office exchange: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Washington optimistic that signing President Donald Trump's desired minerals deal would stabilize their relationship and keep the U.S. on his side. Turns out he was walking into an ambush. Trump and Vice President JD Vance both turned on the embattled wartime leader during a tense exchange in the Oval Office on Friday, accusing Zelenskyy of failing to express sufficient gratitude for U.S. involvement and overplaying what they said was a weak diplomatic hand. — Europe defends Zelenskyy after Trump attack: European leaders on Friday rallied to defend Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance subjected him to a tirade of withering and infantilizing abuse in the Oval Office. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: 'Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader. It's up to us, Europeans, to take this challenge.' In what may prove to be a significant turning point in the tottering post-war Western alliance between Europe and the United States, the Europeans pushed back against Washington's increasing alignment with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Trump's browbeating of Zelenskyy. — Russian state media briefly enters Oval Office during Zelenskyy meeting: The White House last week announced that 'all journalists deserve a seat' in the Oval Office press pool. For a fleeting moment on Friday, that included the Russian state media. A staffer from TASS, a Russian outlet that often promotes glorified coverage of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, was briefly in the room for President Donald Trump's bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. American media mainstays Reuters and the Associated Press were not granted access. According to the White House, the Russian reporter's presence was unplanned. The White House did not address how the unapproved reporter was able to gain access to the Oval Office. — Pope's prognosis remains guarded, Vatican says: Pope Francis suffered an isolated coughing fit on Friday that resulted in him inhaling vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the Vatican said in relaying a setback in his two-week-long battle against double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pope remained conscious and alert at all times and cooperated with the maneuvers to help him recover. He responded well, with a good level of oxygen exchange and was continuing to wear a mask to receive supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said. — Trump to sign executive order making English official language: President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order that will make English the official language of the U.S. The order, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday and confirmed by a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly, marks the first time the U.S. will have an official language at the federal level. It rescinds a mandate from former President Bill Clinton, left in place by each subsequent administration, that required agencies and other entities with federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers. — DOJ demotes top prosecutors of Jan. 6 defendants, Trump allies: The Justice Department has demoted some of the most senior federal prosecutors who brought criminal charges against top allies of Donald Trump and handled some of the most significant cases stemming from the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The demoted prosecutors include a group that sent leaders of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to prison for spearheading the Jan. 6 attack. AROUND THE WORLD BATTLE READY — Ontario Premier Doug Ford romped to a third consecutive landslide Thursday night in a snap election he argued was necessary in order to win a mandate to fight a trade war with the United States. 'Donald Trump thinks he can break us,' Ford said during his victory speech. 'He is underestimating the resilience of the Canadian people, the Canadian spirit. Make no mistake, Canada won't start a fight with the U.S., but you better believe we're ready to win one.' Ford racked up 80 seats out of 124 in the Ontario legislature and picked up 43 percent of the vote. The premier of Canada's most populous province twice traveled to Washington during the campaign in an effort to convince U.S. lawmakers and officials in the Trump administration that tariffs will have unintended consequences. BOILING OVER — Greece came almost entirely to a standstill on Friday as grief, anger and accusations of high-level political corruption came to a head. Public transport, airplanes, schools and courts ― even supermarkets, shops, cafés, theaters, bars and clubs ― closed doors, while huge demonstrations paralyzed the country. The national strike is unprecedented in its breadth in this country of 10 million. While on their surface the protests merely mark the two-year anniversary of the country's worst rail tragedy ― an accident that killed 57 people ― at its core are the emotions and unsettling questions the crash provoked. Those go far beyond the disaster itself. Amid an atmosphere of blame, recrimination and suspicion that the government isn't being honest with its citizens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis faces his biggest challenge since taking office in 2019. Given public concerns over the administration's commitment to democracy and legal freedoms, his reaction to the protests is being watched closely. Nightly Number RADAR SWEEP PASSPORTS FOR SALE — The remote Pacific Island nation of Nauru is under increasing threat from climate change and needs to move around 10,000 residents out of dangerous flood zones. To do so, their president, David Adeang, is seeking to raise around $65 million in a novel way — by selling off passports. Most people who buy citizenship to Nauru will likely never set foot on the country. But the passport can open up the world — providing visa-free travel to places like the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Singapore. Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Ishika Mookerjee and Bernadette Toh report on the concept in Bloomberg. Parting Words Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Paul Azinger says Tiger Woods could bring 'global media' focus to PGA Tour Champions
Paul Azinger believes the anticipation will be higher than ever a year from now with Tiger Woods. At stake is his age — Woods turns 50 in December — and whether he will compete in the PGA Tour Champions. Azinger, now the analyst on the 50-and-older circuit, said his effect could be enormous. 'You've got all those giant names on this tour and you bring Tiger in, I think the global media shows up immediately. I'm talking about global media,' Azinger said last week on a conference call to promote the Chubb Classic in Florida next week . 'Then all of a sudden the focus is on this tour,' he said. 'A lot of guys are going to be in shape and ready and try to beat Tiger if they can.' One of them already did, with some help. Bernhard Langer and his adult son, Jason, beat Woods and 15-year-old Charlie in a playoff at the PNC Championship in December. Azinger took it one more step by suggesting Woods 'might even feel an obligation' to play the PGA Tour Champions. 'The Tour has given Tiger a lot of money the last few years with that Player Impact Program,' Azinger said, referring to the needle-moving bonus program that provided Woods $45 million despite him not playing much because of injuries. 'I'm sure he's going to give back, and it's going to be to all the benefit of these guys out here that are over 50,' Azinger said.
NBC Sports
05-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Paul Azinger says Tiger Woods could bring 'global media' focus to PGA Tour Champions
Paul Azinger believes the anticipation will be higher than ever a year from now with Tiger Woods. At stake is his age — Woods turns 50 in December — and whether he will compete in the PGA Tour Champions. Azinger, now the analyst on the 50-and-older circuit, said his effect could be enormous. 'You've got all those giant names on this tour and you bring Tiger in, I think the global media shows up immediately. I'm talking about global media,' Azinger said last week on a conference call to promote the Chubb Classic in Florida next week . 'Then all of a sudden the focus is on this tour,' he said. 'A lot of guys are going to be in shape and ready and try to beat Tiger if they can.' One of them already did, with some help. Bernhard Langer and his adult son, Jason, beat Woods and 15-year-old Charlie in a playoff at the PNC Championship in December. Azinger took it one more step by suggesting Woods 'might even feel an obligation' to play the PGA Tour Champions. 'The Tour has given Tiger a lot of money the last few years with that Player Impact Program,' Azinger said, referring to the needle-moving bonus program that provided Woods $45 million despite him not playing much because of injuries. 'I'm sure he's going to give back, and it's going to be to all the benefit of these guys out here that are over 50,' Azinger said.
