West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) encouraged Virginia counties unhappy with the Democratic-controlled government in Richmond to secede from the state and join his, The Hill reports.
Said Justice: “If you’re not happy where you’re at, come on down. If you’re not truly happy where you are we stand with open arms to take you from Virginia or anywhere you may be. We stand strongly behind the Second Amendment, and we stand strongly for the unborn.”
“The discredited practice of conversion therapy for LGBTQ children is now banned in Utah, making it the 19th state and one of the most conservative to prohibit it,” the AP reports.
“Seven Republican lawmakers in Florida filed anti-LGBTQ bills late Monday, just hours before the deadline to file new bills for the coming legislative session,” NBC News reports.
“If passed, the bills would ban gender-affirming health care for transgender children, repeal municipal and county ordinances protecting LGBTQ workers, and legalize so-called gay conversion therapy in places that had banned the medically debunked practice.”
Michigan state Sen. Peter Lucido (R) apologized after a reporter said the state senator told her a group of high school boys could have “a lot of fun” with her, the AP reports.
The reporter, Allison Donahue, wrote about the experience for the Michigan Advance.
“Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory for many women’s rights advocates even though it is far from certain the measure will ever be added to the U.S. Constitution,” the AP reports.
“ERA advocates say hitting the 38 mark means the amendment will have surpassed the three-quarters of states the amendment needs to be added to the Constitution.”
“Opponents disagree. Court battles are expected to unfold over a long-passed 1982 ratification deadline set by Congress as well as moves by five states that ratified it in the 1970s to rescind their support.”
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) and state Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning (R) outlined a bipartisan compromise for Medicaid expansion that was the product of 60 days of behind-the-scenes negotiation, the Topeka Capital Journal reports.
New York Assemblyman Brian Kolb (R), who tested at twice the legal alcohol limit after a New Year’s Eve crash, initially blamed the accident on his wife, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports.
Said Kolb to a tow truck driver: “My wife was driving! You know how women drive.”
The crash led Kolb to step aside as Assembly minority leader last week.
“A Democratic super PAC focused on flipping state legislatures is set to pour at least $10 million into four states it wants to turn blue ahead of political redistricting in 2021,” Politico reports.
“Forward Majority is focusing on 50 legislative seats in Florida, Texas, Arizona and North Carolina that Democrats nearly won in 2018.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is no fan of President Trump, but the Washington Monthly suggests he has more in common with the president than his reputation suggests.
“Both are real-estate executives who have refused to relinquish their private businesses while in office. Just as Trump maintained his ownership of the Trump Organization when he became president, Hogan maintained ownership of HOGAN, a multipurpose real-estate brokerage firm, when he became governor. Both have left close family members in charge of their businesses—Trump with his children; Hogan with his brother, Timothy—and created arrangements that allow them to be apprised of the company’s dealings. In other words, they have set up situations in which they can use their powerful government positions to increase their private profits.”
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) has asked the FBI to investigate a flurry of pardons by former Gov. Matt Bevin (R), the AP reports.
“The pardons have drawn criticism from both sides of the political aisle after media reports highlighted some that went to convicts who had wealthy or politically connected families.”
The FBI is asking questions about the pardons Matt Bevin (R) issued during his last weeks as Kentucky governor, the Louisville Courier Journal has learned.
A report produced for the Washington state legislature found state Rep. Matthew Shea (R) “participated in an act of domestic terrorism against the United States” and represents a threat of political violence.
The report also said Shea “advocated the replacement of U.S. democracy with a theocracy and the killing of all males who do not agree.”
The Spokane Spokesman-Review reports Republicans expelled Shea from their caucus.
Shea responded with characteristic defiance, writing on Facebook: “Like we are seeing with our President this is a sham investigation meant to silence those of us who stand up against attempts to disarm and destroy our great country. I will not back down, I will not give in, I will not resign. Stand strong fellow Patriots.”
Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) “defended his controversial last-minute pardon of a man convicted of raping a 9-year-old, saying there was no physical evidence of her abuse,” the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.
Said Bevin: “There was zero evidence… Both their hymens were intact. This is perhaps more specific than people would want, but trust me. If you have been repeatedly sexually violated as a small child by an adult, there are going to be repercussions of that physically and medically.”
“National Democratic leaders, backed by activist groups formed in response to President Trump’s election, are planning an unprecedented push to flip legislative chambers in at least seven states next year, a major strategic shift buoyed by the party’s successful seizure of Virginia’s state government in November,” the Washington Post reports.
“The family of a man pardoned by Gov. Matt Bevin (R) for a homicide and other crimes in a fatal 2014 Knox County home invasion raised $21,500 at a political fundraiser last year to retire debt from Bevin’s 2015 gubernatorial campaign,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.
“The Friday order was one of 428 pardons and commutations Bevin issued since his narrow loss in November… The beneficiaries include one offender convicted of raping a child, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner and a third who killed his parents.”
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) vowed to restore voting rights to more than 100,000 people convicted of felonies, CBS News reports.
“Andy Beshear officially became the 63rd governor of Kentucky just after midnight Tuesday morning in a private swearing-in ceremony in the governor’s mansion,” the Lexington Herald Leader reports.
Ohio state Rep. Timothy Ginter (R), who said he had “no knowledge” of a right wing Christian bill mill called Project Blitz is, in fact, the co-chair of the state branch of an organization behind the campaign, The Guardian reports.
Ginter sponsored a bill called the Student Religious Liberties Act, which “would provide students with a religious exemption to facts, and would frighten teachers and school administrators into including religion in school functions.”
The bill is nearly identical to one promoted by Project Blitz.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
"There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them."
-- Chuck Todd, host of "Meet the Press"
"Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all."
-- Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
"Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
-- Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
"The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom -- nicely packaged, constantly updated... What political junkie could ask for more?"
-- Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.