During opening statements at the start of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) repeatedly dismissed concerns that Kavanaugh will play a key role in restricting women’s reproductive rights as mere “hysteria.”
Referring to a string of protesters who were thrown out of the hearing while yelling things like, “stop the oppression of women!“, Sasse said, “People are going to pretend that Americans have no histor...
politics
The wildest things John Kyl actually tried to argue for
Arizona Gov. Dough Ducey (R) announced Tuesday that he will appoint former Sen. Jon Kyl (R) to succeed Sen. John McCain (R), who passed away last month. Kyl previously served alongside McCain until his retirement in 2012.
Kyl has been keeping himself busy since he left the Senate. Among his projects, he’s been lobbying on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, helping Facebook figure out whether it has a liberal bias, and shepherding Brett Kavanaugh through his nomination proc...
What you need to know about Tuesday’s most interesting primary election
Tuesday’s most interesting election is the primary in Massachusetts’ 7th congressional district, where incumbent Rep. Mike Capuano (D) faces a primary from Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley.
In some ways, the race mirrors a number of other high-profile contested primaries — including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cynthia Nixon’s races in New York, as well as Andrew Gillum’s in Florida — as Pressley, a younger woman of color, has mounted a chall...
The single most important issue in Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing
Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s bid to join the Supreme Court enters its theatrical stage on Tuesday, when his confirmation hearing begins. Kavanaugh will spend his week being intermittently praised by Republican senators and dodging questions from Democratic senators.
It’s a process that, in Justice Elena Kagan’s words, lacks “seriousness and substance” and risks taking on “an air of vacuity and farce.” Supreme Court nominees have gotten very good ...
The benefits of the GOP tax cut haven’t found their way to upstate New York
GEDDES, NEW YORK — The Republican incumbents in upstate New York who voted for last year’s tax bill argue that it is already helping their constituents.
But those constituents — the same voters who will decide whether their representations go back to Capitol Hill in November — are still waiting.
“We don’t see much of a difference,” Gina Trump, who supports the president but is of no relation to him, told ThinkProgress.
“It does...
Study finds Rubio’s plan to raid Social Security to fund paid leave would gut it
More than 4.5 million Floridians received Social Security benefits in 2017 — over 21 percent of its population. Had they taken part in their senator’s proposed “paid parental leave” scheme, they would be receiving quite a bit less.
For a while, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has been touting his idea to cut Social Security and use those funds to pay for new parents to receive two months of partially paid leave to care for their kids. He and Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) an...
Medicare for All is popular among Democrats. But this doctor may be the only candidate who gets it.
There are more than a dozen doctors in Congress and none support Medicare for All. Rob Davidson, an emergency physician running for Michigan’s 2nd congressional district, could change that.
Davidson’s full-throated support of a national government-run health care system not only deeply contrasts his opponent’s position — Republican incumbent Rep. Bill Huizenga doesn’t believe health care is a right — but also those of current doc...
Parkland mom wins school board seat and other election night stories you may have missed
Much of the coverage of Tuesday night’s primaries revolved around Andrew Gillum’s upset victory in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary. Gillum, the only non-millionaire or billionaire in the race, ran on the most progressive platform, including abolishing ICE and establishing Medicare for all.
If Gillum wins in November, he’ll be the first black governor of Florida. He becomes the third black gubernatorial nominee this election cycle, in addition to Stacey...
Representatives in hiding: campaigning as a Republican incumbent in upstate New York
UTICA, NEW YORK — Running for Congress as a Republican incumbent in 2018 is not an easy task. Running for Congress as a Republican in upstate New York in 2018 is, if anything, even more complicated.
New York as a whole is staunchly Democratic, but traveling north, and west, of New York City, the state looks and sounds much more like the Midwest. There are bluer college towns and smaller cities scattered across a half-dozen large congressional districts, as well as large swaths...
BREAKING: Andrew Gillum wins Florida Democratic primary
MIAMI, FLORIDA — Former Mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum secured the Democratic nomination in Florida’s hotly-contested gubernatorial primary, putting an end to a messy and expensive race.
“The job of the governor is to do what is best for everyone in the state of Florida, and I can’t wait to do that,” Gillum told supporters at a watch party Tuesday night. “This is not my moment, this is our moment […] We are in this place right now becaus...