The national media has no dearth of scandals emerging from the Donald Trump administration to cover, not least of which is the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and reports of constant contact between Trump campaign officials and Russia during the 2016 campaign. But with so much necessary focus on the White House, many in […]

Donald Trump wasted little time getting around to the nationalist anti-immigration agenda that was a pillar of his campaign rhetoric. Less than a week after his inauguration, he issued executive orders, accompanied by a speech filled with his typical bluster and fearmongering, on building a wall along the Mexican border, and on “Enhancing Public Safety […]

In another step toward resistance of President-elect Donald Trump’s impending anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-woman administration, California Democrats have retained Obama administration alum, former Attorney General Eric Holder to assist them in their work. Senate Leader Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, both Democrats, said Wednesday that Holder will serve as outside counsel to the […]

With Congress back in session for the new year, and while America’s eyes are largely fixed on the White House and its impending occupants, numerous state legislators across the country are making good on their threats to curtail civil rights protections and to implement state-sanctioned bigotry toward LGBT Americans, and particularly transgender citizens. Texas Republican Lieutenant […]

Controversy is heating up in the Tar Heel state as the city of Charlotte, N.C., and the lame-duck Republican governor, Pat McCrory, are once again at odds. Throughout 2016, the municipal government in Charlotte has been sparring with the governor, refusing to rescue him from an economic and public relations disaster of his own making. […]

With the disclosure that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself ordered the cyberattacks on the presidential election, Americans are waking up to threats to our democracy from overseas. But there is a simultaneous war against democracy on the home front as well, and nowhere is this more apparent than North Carolina. A month ago, voters in the Tar […]

Governor John Kasich delivered a fake-out punch to reproductive rights in Ohio on Tuesday when he vetoed a ban on abortions at six weeks, only to turn around and sign a ban on abortion after 20 weeks. Both of these prohibitions are unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade, which sets the point of viability for a […]

Encouraged by an incoming Donald Trump presidency, Ohio has become the first state to pass draconian anti-choice measures in a renewed effort to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. As a last-minute, lame duck salvo, Ohio legislators tacked a fetal heartbeat abortion ban onto a child abuse prevention bill. This amendment would ban abortion once […]

A federal court has ordered that North Carolina’s heavily gerrymandered state districts be redrawn and that the state must hold new primaries for state-level representatives in September 2017 followed by a general election in November 2017. The case, Covington vs. the State of North Carolina, argued that race-based districting — like that in North Carolina, where […]

One of the exceptions to the Republicans’ series of wins on Election Day was North Carolina governor Pat McCrory. After four years of toxic far-right policy, including severe cutbacks to voting rights, shutting down abortion clinics, and the infamous “bathroom bill” which sparked nationwide boycotts of the state, North Carolinians rejected their Republican governor in favor […]

The Northwest Indiana Times reports that Republican State Rep. Curt Nisly has announced he is planning to file “Protection at Conception” legislation when the General Assembly convenes in January. His proposal, if passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature, would “prohibit all abortion in Indiana in all circumstances and authorize the criminal prosecution of any doctor […]

Encouraged by the response to Donald Trump’s election and the hard-right, white nationalist prospects for his cabinet, many Republican state legislators have begun promoting bills targeting immigrants, minority faiths, and freedom of assembly. In Iowa, Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann announced plans to introduce what he calls the “suck it up, buttercup” bill when the legislature […]

Love and kindness versus hate and fear: that’s what the 2016 election boils down to. While Trump continues to spew his lies and rage in the closing hours of the race, Hillary Clinton concludes her quest for the presidency on a soaring note. Nothing could be more fitting. https://twitter.com/aseitzwald/status/795804016731111425 Bruce Springsteen: Donald Trump has a "profound […]

Chris Christie has always fervently denied any involvement in or prior knowledge of the lane-closure scandal know as “Bridgegate.” But prosecutors have stated that Christie did indeed know about the closures as they were happening, and a judge recently found that there was probable cause for a criminal complaint against the Governor, which could lead […]

Here is a tweet that caught my eye: The South Oval @OhioState is a sea of supporters tonight, because college students are going to help Hillary win Ohio this year! #OHHillYes pic.twitter.com/ZXxows5kNB — Hillary for Ohio (@HillaryforOH) October 10, 2016 Hillary Clinton’s supporters exist. They vote. There are more of them than there are for […]

CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski reports: Like his father, Donald Trump Jr. has a history of engaging in controversial conversations with radio shock-jocks, a review of his appearances on various programs by CNN’s KFile reveals. On shows like “Opie and Anthony,” the now-defunct “The Six Pack,” and “Opie with Jim Norton,” the younger Trump made a joke […]

As part of his series for Newsweek digging into Donald Trump’s business practices, Kurt Eichenwald reported that Trump used imported Chinese steel on at least two of his last three construction projects. For one of those projects, the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, which was completed in 2008, Eichenwald traced the source of the […]

Kelly Ayotte is a “vote for Trump but won’t endorse” Republican candidate. As Trump alienates more voters, her position becomes increasingly untenable. This became painfully clear during Monday’s debate with Democrat Maggie Hassan: PANELIST: The president of the United States is an aspirational figure, one who is our role model, and an individual who stands for ideals […]

https://twitter.com/gdebenedetti/status/780935749327872000 These excerpts are incredible: Clinton knows how to compromise and to lead with intelligence, decorum and perspective. She has a record of public service as First Lady, senator and secretary of state. She has withstood decades of scrutiny so intense it would wither most politicians. The vehemence of some of the anti-Clinton attacks strains […]

Donald Trump showed up in Flint with short notice, which was decidedly unhelpful. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver told the Detroit News, “Unexpected visits like this are difficult for us.” But Trump was less interested in being helpful to Flint than using a photo op in Flint to help his campaign. Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber […]