On a hot day last May, entrepreneurs from all over the world packed themselves into a warehouse event space just off of New York City’s FDR highway for TechCrunch Disrupt. Half trade show, half Shark Tank–style pitch competition, Disrupt is a tri-annual gathering where s...
politics
Trump’s Justice Department finally did something so lawless that even GOP leaders are recoiling
Last Friday, one day after the Justice Department filed a brief refusing to defend the Affordable Care Act, a senior DOJ attorney with over 20 years of experience at the department resigned in an apparent act of protest. The lawyer, Joel McElvain, was one of three career lawyers who withdrew from the case rather than signing their name to the Trump administration’s arguments — a highly unusual move by career Justice Department officials.
Then, on Tuesday of this week, th...
Republican congresswoman has flip-flopped big time
The Martha McSally who ran for Congress in 2012 would not recognize herself today. Then, she was a retired Air Force Colonel mounting two unsuccessful House bids in Arizona, running as a post-partisan leader who would take the lead on immigration and deficit reduction. Then, she presented herself someone with “authenticity” who would not just repeat 15-second sound bites.
McSally won her seat in 2014 after promising to vote against her party more than 20 percent of the time but ins...
BREAKING: Corey Stewart wins Virginia GOP Senate primary
Former Virginia gubernatorial candidate and Confederate apologist Corey Stewart has won the Republican nomination for Senate. He will face Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in the general election this November.
Stewart currently serves as the Prince William County Board of Supervisors chairman, but he captured the national spotlight last year during the Republican gubernatorial primary, running as an immigration hardliner and shamelessly supporting Confederate monuments. Though Stewart lost th...
Critics promise fight as DOJ looks to gut key provisions of Affordable Care Act
"The ACA is the law of the land and DOJ should defend it," top Dem says.
This 2011 quote from Jeff Sessions just became really awkward
The Trump administration’s Department of Justice will not defend in court the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections, including the ban on discrimination against people with pre-existing medical conditions, it announced Thursday. While Attorney General Jeff Sessions is far from the first to opt not to defend a law he deems unconstitutional, many prominent Republicans — including Sessions himself — were highly critical of the practice jus...
As Republicans tout tax reform in midterm battles, they fuel their opposition
CLEVELAND, OHIO — When Katie Jones realized Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) was going to be the Republican Senate nominee in her state, she said she felt “sick.”
Jones has been a community activist in Medina County, Ohio since 2011, mainly fighting a proposed pipeline in her community. That same year, Renacci “unfortunately,” as Jones put it, took office as her representative.
Now, Jones says she’s supporting Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as he runs for reelection — and one t...
More than 100 arrested nationwide for rallying for health care and environmental protection
Activists with the national Poor People’s Campaign faced backlash from government officials and law enforcement during nationwide protests Monday. More than 100 people in Kentucky, Kansas, California, New York, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. were arrested or blocked from entering government buildings.
The campaign, which marks 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized thousands of Americans...
The Sherrod Brown strategy for winning in the Trump era
CLEVELAND, OHIO — Sherrod Brown didn’t want to talk about strategy.
Asked by reporters Monday morning about his tactics as he faces reelection this fall, the two-term Democratic senator interrupted to say he wasn’t going to discuss it. But watching the scene as Brown interacted with constituents in a Cleveland community center after speaking at an event billed as “African Americans for Sherrod,” his strategy was clear.
Brown spoke for about 20 minutes and was immediat...
As Puerto Ricans’ numbers grow in Florida, Hurricane Maria becomes pivotal campaign issue
Puerto Ricans hit by Hurricane Maria often complained that they were not treated by the Trump administration like full-fledged US citizens. Now thousands have relocated to Florida after fleeing the devastating storm and are preparing to flex their political clout at the ballot box this November.
Puerto Ricans who leave the island are eligible to vote as soon as they establish residency on the US mainland, making them an immediate potential political force in the midterms.
The...