Category: US House

Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal at GOP town halls

The following article by Kelsey Snell, Paul Schwartzman, Steve Friess and David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website February 10, 2017:

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Republicans in deep-red congressional districts spent the week navigating massive crowds and hostile questions at their town hall meetings — an early indication of how progressive opposition movements are mobilizing against the agenda of the GOP and President Trump.

Angry constituents swarmed events held by Reps. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), Diane Black (Tenn.), Justin Amash (Mich.) and Tom McClintock (Calif.). They filled the rooms that had been reserved for them; in Utah and Tennessee, scores of activists were locked out. Voters pressed members of Congress on their plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, on the still-controversial confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and even on a low-profile vote to disband an election commission created after 2000. Continue reading “Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal at GOP town halls”

Under-the-radar change to congressional ethics watchdog may weaken it

The following article by Elise Viebeck was posted on the Washington Post website February 8, 2017:

Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) speaks during a news conference after the weekly House Republican caucus meeting. (Michael Reynolds/European Pressphoto Agency)

In early January, House Republicans’ effort to weaken an independent ethics monitor was thought to have failed after then-President-elect Donald Trump intervened with a pair of tweetsquestioning the GOP’s priorities and timing.

But in fact, one change to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) slipped through shortly afterward at the behest of Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), little noticed by anyone but the OCE itself and good-government groups that fear it could undermine the office’s work. Continue reading “Under-the-radar change to congressional ethics watchdog may weaken it”

Eyeing the House, Democrats move to hire operatives in 20 GOP-held districts

The following article by Mike DeBonis was posted on the Washington Post website February 2, 2017:

Democrats are moving urgently to harness the wave of grass-roots protests that have greeted President Trump in his first weeks in office to reclaim the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

As of this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hiring full-time operatives to do political organizing work in 20 key Republican-held districts — an unusually early investment in House races that do not even have declared candidates yet.

Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), the committee’s chairman, called the move “unprecedented” for Democrats, who need to pick up two dozen GOP-held seats to win the majority. Continue reading “Eyeing the House, Democrats move to hire operatives in 20 GOP-held districts”

Middle class incomes had their fastest growth on record last year

Democrats bad for the economy?  They’ll just tax and spend and that will hurt average people?  Not so much by the look of it:

The following article by Jim Tankersley was posted on the Washington Post website September 13, 2016:

16-09-13-wapo-middle-class-chart

The incomes of typical Americans rose in 2015 by 5.2  percent, the first significant boost to middle-class pay since the end of the Great Recession and the fastest increase ever recorded by the federal government, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday morning.

In addition, the poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage points, the steepest decline since 1968. There were 43.1 million Americans in poverty on the year, 3.5 million fewer than in 2014.

The share of Americans who lack health insurance continued a years-long decline, falling 1.3 percentage points, to 9.1 percent.

The numbers, from the government’s annual report on income, poverty and health insurance, suggest the recovery from recession is finally beginning to lift the fortunes of large swaths of American workers and families. Continue reading “Middle class incomes had their fastest growth on record last year”