DES MOINES, Iowa — A top aide to Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer in Iowa privately offered campaign contributions to local politicians in exchange for endorsing his White House bid, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the conversations. The overtures from Pat Murphy, a former state House speaker...
UK Opposition Rages at Johnson After He Suspends Parliament
LONDON — Opposition politicians raged Tuesday at Prime Minister Boris Johnson's five-week suspension of Parliament before the deadline for Brexit, which drew angry and unprecedented protests in the House of Commons. Parliament has been prorogued — or suspended — at the government's request until Oct. 14, a drastic move that...
Walters: Dems Ignore Voters’ Decisions
In politics, as in sports, rules of the game often influence, or even dictate, who wins and who loses. Just as professional sports leagues are wracked by internal conflict over playing rules, California’s politicians and interest groups joust constantly over campaign contribution limits, redrawing of legislative and congressional districts, voter...
Walters: Achievement Gap Question Still Unanswered
As a species, politicians tend to like inputs more than outcomes. It’s more fun, in political terms, to appropriate money for a new program or cut the ribbon of a new public works project than it is to delve into whether they actually performed as promised, and take responsibility for...
Walters: California Tax Revenue Is Soaring
It’s the good news that California’s political establishment — Democratic politicians and their allies in public-employee labor unions — prefer not to acknowledge. The official line from the establishment is that California’s schools, local governments, and state programs are being financially starved. The drumbeat of impoverishment is clearly aimed at...
Afghan Leader Holds Council to Set Agenda for Taliban Talks
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan's president opened a grand council on Monday of more than 3,200 Afghans seeking to agree on a common approach to peace talks with the Taliban, but the gathering may further aggravate divisions within the U.S.-backed government. President Ashraf Ghani hopes to showcase unity at the four-day...
Report: Requests from Politicians Hampered Wildfire Fight
LOS ANGELES — The battle against a devastating November wildfire in Los Angeles County was hampered by politicians asking firefighters to check on certain homes. The conclusion comes from an after-action review by the Los Angeles Fire Department, which joined Los Angeles and Ventura county departments in battling the November...
NRA Has History of Promoting Gun Rights Outside US
BOISE, Idaho — The recent revelation that National Rifle Association representatives had met with Australian politicians to discuss talking points after a mass shooting generated outrage from various politicians. The reality is that the NRA has been exerting its influence on gun debates outside the U.S. for a number of...
Walters: California Politicians Disrespect Our Rights
The Constitution’s very specific list of inviolable human rights sets the United States apart from almost every other nation on Earth. Unfortunately, California’s Democratic politicians tend to ignore the Constitution’s Bill of Rights in their zealous efforts to impose “progressive” dogma on their constituents. Periodically, therefore, federal judges must remind...
California Politics Are Hella NorCal. Will Voters Shake That Up This Year?
California is politically lopsided: Most of the people live in the south, but most of the political power is based in the north. For the last several years, the majority of politicians elected statewide have been northern Californians—including the governor, lieutenant governor, schools superintendent and both U.S. senators. That could...