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Showing posts from December, 2021

Islamophobia and anti-Semitism controversies dominate Congress. Diplomacy, not so much.

Six months after a shooting war in Gaza, Congress is more involved in controversies over Islamophobia and anti-Semitism than it is in resuscitating a two-state solution in the Middle East. Support for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel has notably declined on Capitol Hill as poisonous rhetoric replaces policy debates about long-term security in a region where conflict has flared for more than a generation. For many lawmakers — and more prominently in the GOP as of late — the weaponization of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism has become the rule, not the exception. This past week alone, two videos emerged of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali-born Muslim who's outspoken in favor of Palestinian rights, is a terrorist; and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Omar a jihadist. The Democratic Party has its own internal fractures over the U.S.-Israel relationship: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) was criticized by a far-lef...
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Dems plot escape from Biden’s poll woes

Rep. Jared Golden is facing one of the toughest reelection battles in the country. One thing he says doesn’t keep him up at night, though, is President Joe Biden’s sinking approval rating. “I really don't care at all. I've got my own approach to doing things,” the Maine Democrat said, adding that he handily outran Biden in Trump country. “What I know about his approval ratings right now versus my own is that I'm outpacing him by about 30 points." Golden's nonchalance is rare. Most Democrats are worried that Biden’s flagging polling numbers — with an approval hovering in the low 40s — will lead to a thrashing at the ballot box. With historical headwinds and a GOP-dominated redistricting process already working against them, they fear that unless Biden pulls out of his current slide, Congress will be handed to the Republicans in next year's midterms. Even the party's own polling has the president in the red. A poll from House Democrats’ campaign arm earli...
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Bob Dole, 1996 GOP presidential nominee, dies at 98

A man of few words but many accomplishments, former Republican Kansas Sen. Bob Dole died on Sunday after an indelible life that stretched from its beginnings in rural Kansas to the Italian battlefields during World War II to Congress, where Dole spent 35 years as a GOP stalwart and long-serving Senate Republican leader. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation announced the death Sunday. “It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years,“ said the foundation, named for his wife, herself a former U.S. senator from North Carolina. Although a staunch conservative who focused on balanced spending, deficit reduction, and foreign policy, Dole was never beholden to the party line during his years in Congress. He co-authored food stamp legislation with progressive icon, convinced former President Ronald Reagan to push through tax increases and commiserated...
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Omar says she's 'confident' Pelosi will take action in Islamophobia controversy

Rep. Ilhan Omar said on Sunday she’s confident House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take “decisive action” soon against Rep. Lauren Boebert after the Colorado Republican made anti-Muslim remarks about Omar. Boebert’s remarks came to light in a video on social media, and tensions increased after a phone call between Boebert and Omar last week. On CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, the Minnesota Democrat called Boebert’s comments "dangerous" and blasted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy for failing to condemn the Islamophobic remarks. “McCarthy is a liar and a coward,” Omar said, adding that “we have to push them to reckon with the fact that their party right now is normalizing anti-Muslim bigotry.” Asked if she believes the speaker will move to strip Boebert of her committee assignments, Omar said she’s had a conversation with Pelosi and is “very confident” she will take action. “As you know, when I first got to Congress, I was worried that I wasn't going to be allow...
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Majority blues: House Dems not done limping for the exit

Joe Manchin once quipped that "Washington sucks." House Democrats are starting to come to the same conclusion. Their retirements are piling up, with Rep. Peter DeFazio the latest announced departure on Wednesday . Their landmark bills are getting neutered in the Senate. They've already started a brutal round of redistricting as President Joe Biden's approval ratings nosedive. Several senior Democrats, some of them heading for the exits as well, say it's no surprise that so many are tapping out amid one of Congress’ most toxic sessions in recent memory. “Let's face it: The atmosphere in this place — it's a hostile work environment,” said retiring Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.). “We've got members threatening to kill other members and treating each other with such disrespect.” And he added: “Things seem to be getting worse.” The retirement of DeFazio, chair of the House transportation committee, sent a shock wave through a caucus already clinging to its smal...
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