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Top GOP 2016 Candidate Chris Christie Comes Out Swinging Against Same-Sex Marriage

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Leading in the 2016 GOP presidential candidate polls, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has decided to embrace his inner far right wing conservative.

The GOP has been ignoring its greatest problem: views so out of date that Hillary Clinton would beat any GOP challenger for president by a large margin. Rather than attempt to counter that trend, Chris Christie, now leading in the polls despite “Bridgegate,” came out this weekend and in one fell swoop marked his territory in his likely 2016 campaign as one centered on opposing same-sex marriage and Obamacare.

Despite his decision to not appeal a court ruling that finally ushered same-sex marriage into the Garden State, Christie announced this weekend that the battle for marriage equality is not over — at least in his mind.

“I don’t think that there’s going to be some major referee who’s going to say now it’s time to stop,” said Christie, speaking at the National Governors Association in Tennessee on Saturday. “Certainly I’m not going to, because these are opinions that I feel strongly about…The country will resolve this over a period of time. But do I think it’s resolved now? No.”

But Christie seemed to be holding out for hope on derailing marriage in his home state.

“Absent a change in the legislature,” the New Jersey Governor who’s been impacted by the scandals in his administration told reporters, “I think at the moment it’s settled law in New Jersey.”

Writing at Salon today, Joan Walsh said Christie is “still hoping to hustle the loons in 2016.” She adds she doesn’t see “the religious fanatics who oppose marriage equality being satisfied with Christie’s ‘I didn’t fight it but you guys should’ answer. Sure, they’re aligned with anti-tax austerity fetishists in the GOP, but when it comes to gay marriage, they’re zealots, and conceding to the courts in the name of protecting tax dollars isn’t likely to win them over. But Christie’s going to try anyway. He doesn’t have another route to the nomination.”

Christie, meanwhile, at the same conference Saturday also announced that he believes Obamacare is a “failure on a whole number of levels” that Congress should “repeal.”

“But has to be repeal and replace with what. It can’t just be about repeal,” Christie said. “What I’ve said before is, what Republicans need to be doing is putting forth alternatives for what should be a better healthcare system.”

Meanwhile, in America, for years a strong majority of voters have supported same-sex marriage. Currently that number stands at 59 percent nationwide. 

And the majority of Americans want the Affordable Care Act to stay. A CNN poll from May finds “61% want Congress to leave the Affordable Care Act alone (12%) or make some changes to the law in an attempt to make it work better (49%).” 

If Christie wants to win the White House, he will first need to enter this decade — because despite the perception many have of the 51-year old two-term GOP governor, he is neither moderate nor bipartisan, nor living in this decade.

 

Image by Steve Fallon via Flickr

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Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

Image via Shutterstock 

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Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

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A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

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Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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