ATLANTA — After two days of intense criticism, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden reversed course Thursday and declared he no longer supports a long-standing congressional ban on using federal health care money to pay for abortions. "If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no...
California Democrats Loudly Lean Left but Quietly Make Safe Choice
Anyone who spent the weekend at the California Democratic Party’s convention — watching 14 White House contenders try to impress what one Congresswoman called “the wokest Democrats in the country” — observed the following: Saturday’s most rapturous cheers went to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who declared “the time for small...
How Powerful Lawmakers are Killing California Bills—Without a Peep
Gun control, school spending, curbs on greenhouse gases: With Democrats holding more power at the Capitol than they’ve had since the 19th century, California’s legislative pipeline is full this year with big, blue-state ideas. In theory, no Democrat’s bill should be left behind. But that’s not what’s happening, and the...
GOP Warnings About Democratic Socialism Tap Voter Unease
ALAMOSA, Colo. — In this scruffy, high-desert town encircled by prairies and potato farms, Sen. Cory Gardner drew shouts of approval last week for his message that Democrats are shoving the country toward socialism. "That's not what government is or what it should be," he told about 200 Alamosa County...
Poll: Medicare Buy-In More Appealing to GOP Voters
WASHINGTON — Americans are giving Democrats a clear edge on health care as the 2020 presidential race gears up, according to a new poll that also finds many Republicans backing one of their competitors' top ideas: a government insurance plan people can buy into. But support for the plan that...
‘Federal Government Really Jacked Us’: How Trump’s Tax Cuts Are Working out for Californians
For communications professor Jason Jarvis and his wife, Jun, California just got more expensive. The Inglewood couple, who last year paid $16,000 in state and local taxes, were only able to deduct $10,000 of it from their federal taxes this year. The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—signed last year...
Walters: Three Months in, Newsom Has Only Tepid Approval
Gavin Newsom coasted into the governorship last year, defeating his Republican rival by more than a 3-2 margin. It seems a little odd, therefore, that three months into his governorship, he enjoys only tepid popular support. A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that just 45...
GOP Attacks Schiff at First Post-Mueller Russia Hearing
WASHINGTON — House Democrats barreled ahead with their oversight of the Trump administration on Thursday at a fiery Intelligence Committee hearing where Republicans formalized their demand that Chairman Adam Schiff resign his post over his comments that there was significant evidence the president and his associates conspired with Russia. Republicans...
GOP Senators Defend ‘Hero” McCain Against Trump’s Attacks
WASHINGTON — Key Republicans on Wednesday defended the late Sen. John McCain as a "hero" against ongoing attacks from President Donald Trump, daring to say what most in the GOP still won't seven months after the Arizona senator's death from brain cancer. A trio of senators, from the most senior...
Senate Slaps Down Trump Border Emergency as Republicans Defect
WASHINGTON — In a stunning rebuke, a dozen defecting Republicans joined Senate Democrats Thursday to block the national emergency that President Donald Trump declared so he could build his border wall with Mexico. The rejection capped a week of confrontation with the White House as both parties in Congress strained...