Daily Archives: September 15, 2022

1. Opinion | Republican Efforts to Ban or Restrict Abortions  The New York Times
2. Beware the Suddenly Moderate Republican  DAME Magazine
3. Mainstream outlets fail to scrutinize supposed Republican backslide on abortion  Media Matters for America
4. Why the Republicans other proposed national abortion ban matters  MSNBC
5. Republicans in muddle on abortion as ban proposed by Graham exposes rifts  The Washington Post
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Opinion | Republican Efforts to Ban or Restrict Abortions - The New York Times

Two months before Wisconsins midterm elections, only one of the 12 Republicans running for statewide office or Congress has fully accepted the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight.

The state Republican Partys acceptance of conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, which numerous audits, lawsuits, reviews and investigations have shown was won by President Joe Biden, have damaged peoples perceptions of democracy.

A Marquette University Law School Poll released Wednesday showed that 56% of respondents are very concerned about accurate vote counts. Only 13% of Republicans, the poll shows, are very confident the votes were accurately cast and counted in 2020.

Thursday is the international Day of Democracy, but in Wisconsin, democracy has been threatened by a party willing to go to great lengths to undermine the results of a presidential election it lost while it games the rules and legislative maps to prevent the other side from gaining significant political power in the state.

The past two years in the state have seen a long and winding review of the 2020 election crash and burn when the man Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) hired to run it, former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, endorsed Vos primary election opponent. The Gableman review was widely criticized by members of both political parties for being unprofessional and harmful to democracy while it skirted the states open records laws and invited input from a menagerie of conspiracy theorists.

State Rep. Tim Ramthun (R-Campbellsport) ran a primary campaign for governor almost entirely on a platform of election denialism. Even after the end of the Gableman review, conspiracy theories about election administration continue.

In the two years of searching, Republicans have come up with little evidence of wrongdoing in 2020, repeatedly circling back to claiming grants from private organizations to help municipalities fund election administration amount to bribery, asking questions about voting in nursing homes and making false allegations that the states voter rolls are susceptible to fraud.

Just this week, a group of Republicans including Vos and Wisconsin Elections Commission Chair Don Millis criticized the City of Milwaukee for accepting help from an outside group to register residents to vote. The city isnt accepting funding for the canvassing nor doing the canvassing, just allowing a third-party group to go door-to-door registering voters.

Im not asking anybody to cast their ballots for one party or another or one candidate or another, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said at an event earlier this week. What Im asking is for people to participate in our process and to make sure that their voice is heard at the ballot box.

Despite Johnsons statement that he doesnt care what party people vote for, just that they participate, the Republicans referred to the effort as Zuckerbucks 2.0 a reference to the derisive term the party has coined to refer to the private grants received in 2020. The group attacked the registration effort despite several court rulings that private election grants arent illegal and dont amount to election bribery.

We are demanding that the City of Milwaukee immediately cease assisting a privately-funded, liberal group in their efforts to only engage with and turn out certain voters, the group of Republicans said in their statement. Public resources should not be used for Get Out the Vote (GOTV) drives that inherently favor one party or candidate over another. The City of Milwaukees promotion and coordination of potentially illegal activities under the guise of canvassing is why Wisconsin voters have lost confidence in our elections. It is inappropriate for any municipality to support a GOTV campaign. Democrats continue to allow suspicious activity and highly partisan groups to mettle in our elections. Milwaukee Votes 2022 is essentially Zuckerbucks 2.0. This must stop now.

The non-stop efforts by Republicans in the state Legislature to undermine elections in Wisconsin has led to the departure of one of the few Republicans willing to stand up to them. Sen. Kathy Bernier (R-Chippewa Falls) has been one of the lone voices against the tide of election conspiracies, and on a Wispolitics.com panel this week said that countering them has made her want to pull my hair out. Bernier is retiring this year.

In addition to the conspiracy theories and baseless accusations of fraud, voters and communities across the state spent 10 years pushing for a fairer set of political maps for both the Legislature and the states congressional seats after the redistricting process in 2010 resulted in Wisconsin becoming one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Instead, decisions from the conservative justices on both the U.S. and state Supreme Courts led to the political maps becoming even more tilted against Democrats.

Against the backdrop of nearly two years of conspiracy theories and a political map designed to boost Republican candidates, the 12 Republicans running for the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state and attorney general have all reached varying conclusions on the question of the 2020 election, and their beliefs will play a major role in the future of democracy in the state.

Some, such as U.S. Reps. Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany, voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. Fitzgerald, who was previously the majority leader of the state Senate, reserved a room in the state Capitol building for a group of Republicans to meet and cast unauthorized Electoral College votes for then-President Donald Trump, despite the fact that he lost Wisconsin.

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Another, Derrick Van Orden, who is running for the second time to represent the 4th Congressional District in the western part of the state, was a participant in the protests on Jan. 6 that culminated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Van Orden, who traveled to the protest using campaign money, has said he didnt enter the Capitol grounds, though reporting from the Daily Beast suggests that isnt true.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, running for re-election in a dead heat against Democratic Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, has frequently spread conspiracy theories and tried to hand the false GOP electoral votes to Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6.

Fitzgerald, Johnson, Tiffany and Van Orden are four of the 199 candidates across the country who have fully denied the 2020 election results.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels has equivocated on the question of who he believes won the 2020 election, but his platform includes election integrity, and hes promised to terminate the Wisconsin Elections Commission if elected.

Even the statewide candidates who have accepted Biden won the election, Secretary of State candidate Amy Loudenbeck and Attorney General candidate Eric Toney, have participated in attacks on the states election system.

Loudenbeck is running on a platform of giving control of the states election administration to the secretary of states office, a move Republicans surely wont take if incumbent Doug La Follette wins re-election after theyve spent years slowly chipping away at the duties of the office.

Toney, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney, has charged several people in the county with election fraud after they made what they say are mistakes in attempting to cast a ballot.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil is the only Republican of the 12 candidates to fully accept the results of the 2020 election, according to the FiveThirtyEight analysis.

None of the Republicans in Wisconsins congressional delegation fared well in a recent Democracy Scorecard released by national pro-democracy group Common Cause.

Never has it been more important for voters to stand together and demand candidates tell them what they will do to strengthen our march toward a multi- racial, multi-cultural, and multi-ethnic democracy that respects and works for everyone, Common Cause president Karen Hobert Flynn wrote. As they evaluate their representatives actions in office, constituents must discern truth from lies or disinformation. The stakes for our democracy couldnt be higher.

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Democracy Day in the wake of Republican attacks on elections - Wisconsin Examiner

NEW BRITAIN Republican candidates and supporters clapped and whooped in a standing-room-only rally with Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, who flew in Wednesday afternoon for the event at the storefront Republican National Committee center on West Main St.

If youre not sure, the red wave is coming to Connecticut, Ben Proto, chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, told the energized crowd, as he introduced the speakers.

Candidate George Logan, who is running against Democrat Johanna Hayes for the 5th district Congressional seat, read the beginning of his speech in Spanish, followed by its English translation.

As I stand here the day before the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, its an exciting time here in the fifth district when we celebrate all cultures, all folks, all different ways of thinking, different backgrounds, said Logan.

I am proud to stand here in New Britain, Connecticut, U.S.A., as the son of Guatemalan immigrants who came to this country to live the American dream he said, as the audience clapped and cheered. And today I stand here as your nominee for Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives. Isnt America great? This is what its all about.

Logan said that 40 years of Democratic rule in Connecticut and one-party rule in Washington had resulted in all-time high inflation and gas prices, increased crime and declining student test scores.

I will advocate for school choice and ensure that the money follows the child, he said.

He said he would support American energy independence to help lower energy costs and that he would support police funding.

Next up was Leora Levy, who is running to unseat Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Like Logan, she read parts of her speech first in Spanish and then in English. Levy, who is originally from Cuba, said that if elected, she will be the first female senator and the first Hispanic senator to represent Connecticut.

Levy said that the Biden Administration had allowed an invasion at our border that had let in fentanyl, gangs, terrorists and human traffickers, flooding the U.S.

Theyre flying them to Connecticut, she said.

She said she would say no to indoctrination of our children and no to those who want to teach Critical Race Theory and gender fluidity, rather than teaching them real history, real math, science, reading, civics, and most importantly, American exceptionalism.

Levy said she would stand up for parental rights and medical freedom and for the next generation, as members of the crowd clapped and shouted, Thank you.

She urged the audience to end the Blumenthal Blight and make Connecticut affordable for all families.

Next at the lectern was McDaniel, who pinned the current challenges facing the country on the Democrats, the party in power.

We dont like playing the blame game but they have put us in the situation to where families are hurting the average Connecticut family right now is paying $700 more a month. Thirty-five percent of children in Connecticut did not go back to school last year. Hartford just had the most overdoses since 2003, she said. Thats what the Democrats are doing they dont care.

She said it was time to flip Connecticut and send a message.

This is the American-people-first election, she said. Republicans are going to go in and fight for families and our kids and our neighbors. It isnt about Democrat versus Republican, its about common sense versus greed, communism and crazy.

Proto, Logan, Levy and McDaniel urged the crowd to participate in the campaigns by knocking on doors, making phone calls, delivering yard signs and raising funds,

The opportunity is there, its about our children, our grandchildren, said Proto.

Maureen Zollo of Naugatuck said she came to the event to meet local candidates and support the Republican party.

Locally, its the schools. My granddaughter is in first grade and there are unacceptable things being taught, she told CT Examiner.

She said the economy and inflation are high on her list of concerns. She said she wanted to see policies enacted that will show up as savings for consumers, especially in the cost of gas and food.

Tracy Sparmer, of Berlin, said he came to catch up with the candidates and to keep the momentum going for election day. He said he was concerned about clean voter rolls at the state level. He said the diesel fuel tax is affecting the prices of groceries and building materials.

Everything has to get there and that takes diesel fuel, he said.

He said that by closing drilling fields and pipelines, Washington, D.C. is spurring higher energy prices and speculation driving the price of fuel.

Theyre going to kill carbon fuels so nobody will invest and that adds to the pricing. Work doesnt get done, the price goes up, theyre creating a shortage, he said.

Christine Rebstock of Middletown said she is a conservative transgender woman and serves as on the LGBTQIA+ Commission in Middletown. She said she is an unaffiliated voter.

Rebstock said she opposes SEL social emotional learning which includes gender issues.

She said she agreed with Bob Stefanowskis Parental Bill of Rights. Rebstock also said she opposes teenagers, ages 14 to 17, receiving medicated hormone replacement without parental consent.

Thats child abuse, she said. This belongs in the home and with parents, doctors and therapists. Help is available at the LGBTQIA+ Center, the Pride Center and with PFLAG.

She said the centers can help trans teenagers with social transition until they are 18 and then they can decide whether to use hormone therapies.

She said she wanted to see the money from the SEL redirected to the support centers that support trans children.

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'The Red Wave is Coming,' Say Republicans at Rally with National Committee Chair in New Britain - CT Examiner

Commentary

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Sept. 13 was down 1,049 points in response to the latest devastating inflation report from the Department of Labor. Overall year-on-year inflation, according to the Consumer Price Index, was 8.3 percent in August, with core inflation a shocking 6.3 percent year-on-year.

According to the New York Post,the CPIs food index surged 11.4%, its largest year-over-year increase since May 1979.

But thats hardly the only bad news in the Biden-Democrat economy. As reported by NASDAQ, U.S. household wealth fell by a record $6.1 trillion in the second quarter to its lowest in a year as a bear market in stocks far outweighed further gains in real estate values.

According to an August report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans total credit card debt increased by $46 billion in the second quarter of 2022: The 13% cumulative increase in credit card balances since Q2 2021 represents the largest in more than 20 years.

And on the producer side, as reported by Trading Economics, new orders for US manufactured goods fell 1% month-over-month in July of 2022.

Oh, and the national debt will top the $31 trillion mark before the end of the month.

Continuing record inflation: check. Food prices soaring: check. Americans net worth imploding: check. Credit card debt soaring: check. U.S. manufacturing in a slump: check.

The only reason that increasing gas prices doesnt get a check is that the Biden administration has been draining the U.S. petroleum reserve to its lowest level since 1984 (after the Arab oil embargo ended) in order to artificially lower gasoline prices ahead of the November elections.

Wheres Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader in the U.S. Senate?

Hes whining about fundraising problems while dissing candidateswho recently won Senate primariesendorsed by former President Donald Trump. In the most important midterm elections in recent memory, wheres McConnells overt leadership and national communications strategy in conveying exactly what the Republicans would do to reverse the disastrous policies of President Joe Biden and Progressive Democrats in Congress?

Perhaps McConnell wishes to hide his role in helping the Democrats pass gargantuan spending billssuch as the $280 billion computer chip funding billwhich are the root cause for high inflation. Or maybe he wants Americans to forget his caving to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumers Democrats last year when he handed them an emergency debt extension, which opened the floodgates for the Democrats spending bills this year, as reported by The Federalist.

McConnell is a creature of Washington. He has been in the Senate since 1985 and either the majority or minority leader since 2006. His Senate Leadership Fund PAC is the gold standard of the GOP establishment for campaign fundraising.

After Labor Day, that PAC pumped $18.4 million into Senate races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin. But none for the Blake Masters, the Trump-endorsed Senate candidate in Arizona who trails incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly by only 2 points, according to a new Emerson poll reported out on Sept. 10. And none for Republican Tiffany Smiley in Washington state, who trails long-time Democrat Sen. Patty Murray by a mere three percentage points, as reported here on Sept. 3. Targeted spending could put these and other Republican challengers over the top and McConnell into the majority leaders chair next January. Does McConnell wish to be the majority leader or not?

But maybe thats just the problem. If the Republicans take the Senate in November (no sure thing given the absence of a national strategy at this late stage), an influx of Trump-endorsed America First senators could put McConnells Senate leadership post at risk. This is a distinct possibility, as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), appears to be jockeying for the position himself.

In a Washington Examiner editorial on Sept. 1, Scott specifically called out the establishment wing of the Republican Party for trashing some Republican candidates in swing states: Many of the very people responsible for losing the Senate last cycle are now trying to stop us from winning the majority this time by trash-talkingour Republican candidates [and are] giving anonymous quotes to help theWashington Postor theNew York Timeswrite stories trashing Republicans.

Was Scott alluding to McConnell (or his staffers) as being the source of some of those leaks? Thats entirely possible, as Scott called out McConnell by name in a Politico interview on Aug. 31, as reported here: Sen. McConnell and I clearly have a strategic disagreement here [on the quality of Republican senate candidates] We have great candidates.

Loss of political power means loss of big donorsanathema for a long-serving senator used to wheeling and dealing and controlling Republican caucus votes with PAC money. But if the Democrats hold the Senatewhich would largely be due to a poor Republican political strategy given all of the obvious political problems that the Democrats agenda has created for themselvesMcConnell would likely retain his position as minority leader (along with access to all that big donor money during high stakes pay-for-play deliberations in the next Congress). Has he calculated that its better to be a handmaiden to Schumers Democrats than to risk losing his Senate Republican leadership role? That would certainly explain his dissing of Trump-endorsed Senate candidates.

If any midterm election should be nationalized, its this one. The Contract with Americagreatly served Newt Gingrichs Republicans during the 1994 midterms. By focusing attention on a Republican congressional platform rather than simply on individual races, the Contract included a list of eight reforms the Republicans promised to enact, as well as 10 bills they promised to bring to floor debate and votes, if they were made the majority following the 1994 election. The reforms included three core Republican principlesaccountability, responsibility, and opportunitywhich resonated with many Americans. And the Republicans subsequently gained 54 House and 9 Senateseats and flipped both chambers of Congress.

As the 1994 Contract with America was introduced a mere six weeks before the elections, theres still time for McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (the prospective Republican speaker of the House) to produce their own Contract with America to galvanize voters this year by giving them real reasons to vote Republican, not merely to vote against Bidenomics and left-wing Democrat policies being crammed down Americans throats.

What might the 2022 version of the Contract include? Heres a starter list of congressional actions and legislation:

Real actions attacking inflation immediately, restoring U.S. energy production to pre-Biden levels, reversing left-wing cultural attacks by the federal government that is dividing Americans, returning federal law enforcement to the principles of equal justice under the law for all Americans, and shutting down the flood of illegal immigrants into the countrythese are simply logical actions that should be included in a 2022 Contract with America. A coordinated announcement by all Republican leaders and candidates with an accompanying nationwide communications strategy would give voters real reasons to vote Republican this year.

Whats preventing McConnell (and McCarthy) from doing the obvious?

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

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Stu Cvrk retired as a captain after serving 30 years in the U.S. Navy in a variety of active and reserve capacities, with considerable operational experience in the Middle East and the Western Pacific. Through education and experience as an oceanographer and systems analyst, Cvrk is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he received a classical liberal education that serves as the key foundation for his political commentary.

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Where's the Republican Political Strategy for 2022? - The Epoch Times

Ray Rodrigues, whose career includes positions at Florida Gulf Coast University and in the state Senate, will lead Florida's 12 public institutions. Will he be a good fit?

Ray Rodrigues

Floridas Board of Governors unanimously selected Ray Rodrigues, a former Republican state senator and Director of Interagency Partnerships at Florida Gulf Coast University, as the new chancellor. He has spent more than a decade in higher education but also has been a stalwart politician in the state, shepherding through several key bills under Gov. Ron DeSantis that deeply impact administrators, faculty and students.

The 52-year-old Rodrigues gave up his Southwest Florida seat in the state legislature in 2020 in hopes of landing the position. That became available when Marshall Criser III, the son of the former University of Florida president, said he would be exiting as chancellor in July after eight years. He was one of just two finalists for the spot, along with Emory University School of Theology Chief Business Officer Lori Cromwell. Rodrigues proved to be the better choice for the Board.

You bring a very strong mix of experiences, both personal and professional, including your experience in the private sector, your experience at the university level, your experience with budgets and your experience obviously in the legislature, Board member Eric Silagy told Rodrigues during Wednesdays announcement.

Aside from his six-year political run that included a stint as Majority Leader, Rodrigues also has served as budget manager for the College of Arts and Science and in community relations at FGCU. A first-generation student and graduate of Berry College in Georgia, he earned his masters degree in public administration from Florida Gulf Coast. He said he had one simple mission as new chancellor.

The goal is for us to provide the highest quality education at the most affordable price, with degrees that lead to employment, Rodrigues said.

More from UB:DeSantis announces civics curriculum for high school and undergraduate students

Rodrigues will take over at a pivotal moment for higher education in the state, which has seen several new lawsincluding some he helped developedreshape how institutions and their leaders can operate. Two that passed include one on intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity in which state institutions must allow freedom of speech for all on campus (it is being challenged federally), as well as the controversial SB 7044, which forces colleges to change accreditors every cycle and tenured professors to undergo reviews every five years.

The new law has raised concerns that professors could be forced out if they speak freely, are critical of individual leaders or address topics such as critical race theory. Faculty organizations worry, too, that they could retire or exit for positions in other states, leaving institutions without some of their best and most experienced instructors.

This should alarm all Florida faculty and students, as well as anyone considering working or studying in the state, Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors,said in a statement after the bill was passed. Without the protections of academic tenure, teachers and researchers in higher education are subject to pressure and interference from donors, board members, corporations, and, of course, politicians, as we have seen recently at the University of Florida. The notion that faculty in higher education in Florida are indoctrinating students is ludicrous.

While there is uncertainty about the future of the public higher education system in Florida, it is notable that the state was recently ranked No. 1 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, including best on tuition and fees and second on two-year graduation rates. It was also No. 7 for least debt among students. However, when it comes to education attainmentor preparing students for success beyond collegeit only landed at No. 29.

With that as a backdrop and with politics likely to play a part in the future, Andrew Gothard, President of the United Faculty of Florida, said he is hoping for the best for the states 12 public institutions and its many private colleges and universities.

We have had our disagreements with Sen. Rodrigues in the past, especially regarding what makes good policy for Floridas higher education system, but we hope to find common ground moving forward with him as Chancellor, Gothard told University Business. After all, we should all want the same thing, which is good, solid policies and programs that will continue to push Floridas higher education system to being the best in the world. We hope to see Chancellor Rodrigues separate himself from the divisive politics promoted by Gov. DeSantis, namely by recognizing that Floridas world-class higher education system acquired its status because of the continued commitment and efforts of its world-class faculty.

That might be a longshot, but Gothard said it is important to keep politics from overrunning college campuses, and that includes both sides.

We hope that he will use his position to stop efforts by Gov. DeSantis and his supporters to indoctrinate and intimidate Floridas higher ed students and faculty into expressing and believing only conservative positions on key issues, Gothard said. As far as UFF is concerned, all are welcome in Floridas college and university classrooms. The diversity of our higher education systempolitical, social, or otherwiseis a key part of its strength. We need a Chancellor who both recognizes and promotes these facts, now and into the future. We sincerely hope that Ray Rodrigues can be that kind of Chancellor.

Gothard said he plans to connect with Rodrigues to talk about how they can all work together in the future.

I will be reaching out to the new Chancellor in order to start a conversation about these issues and in hopes of finding a productive working relationship moving forward, he said. However, these hopes and efforts do not, in any measure, undermine UFFs commitment to fully oppose policies and procedures that will actively harm higher education students, faculty, and staff, as well as the communities our campuses support.

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Florida's university system has a new chancellor, and it is this Republican | - University Business

Texas had bused about 10,400 immigrants to New York, DC, and Chicago as of Sept. 9, Abbott said in a statement. And on Thursday, the governor said two buses of immigrants from Texas arrived outside of Vice President Kamala Harris's residence at the US Naval Observatory in DC. The people on the buses came from several countries, including Guyana, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Many of these immigrants are fleeing extreme poverty and violence in their home countries.

It was the latest tactic by Abbott, who is up for reelection and banking on a tough immigration platform to win. Last year, he launched Operation Lone Star, which ordered Texas National Guard troops to arrest undocumented immigrants at the border on state trespassing charges. More recently as part of the operation, Abbott had the state National Guard start apprehending people suspected of being undocumented immigrants who had managed to evade Border Patrol and driving them to a US Customs and Border Protection port of entry.

But Abel Nuez, executive director of the Central American Resource Center, one of the organizations helping immigrants who were dropped off at DC's Union Station, said Abbott might actually be having unintended consequences.

"Most immigrants on the buses are really happy and thankful for the governor's free bus ride," Nuez said in a recent interview. "It's counterintuitive. Yes, Abbott is making a point, sure, but this will encourage people on the buses to tell their networks back home, 'Hey, go to Texas.'"

It wouldn't be the first time Abbott's attempt at immigration enforcement has proven to be counterproductive. In December, BuzzFeed News reported that Operation Lone Star had inadvertently helped asylum-seekers. Had some of the immigrants been detained by Border Patrol agents instead of state troopers, they would've been subject to Title 42 and immediately sent back to Mexico or their home countries based on their nationalities. But because they were facing state charges and held in local jails, the immigrants were able to access asylum proceedings that Title 42 would have blocked them from.

In May, Arizona joined Texas in sending buses of immigrants to DC as well. In a statement, Ducey said that with Arizona resources under demand and little or no assistance from the federal government, the state would voluntarily give asylum-seekers transportation to DC.

In the case of Florida, DeSantis appears to be offering free plane rides and has become the latest governor to send immigrants and asylum-seekers to so-called sanctuary jurisdictions after taking credit for flying at least 50 Venezuelans to Martha's Vineyard.

"We are not a sanctuary state, and it's better to be able to go to a sanctuary jurisdiction, and, yes, we will help facilitate that transport for you to be able to go to greener pastures," DeSantis said at a news conference. "Every community in America should be sharing in the burdens. It shouldn't all fall on a handful of red states."

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Republican Governors Keep Sending Thousands Of Immigrants To Other States As Part Of A Political Stunt, But It Could Be Having Unintended Consequences...

Brian Flick| Opinion contributor

I was a registered Republican until I pulled my first Democratic ballot on May 8, 2018.

Like many reading this, I grew up in suburban neighborhoods that were predominately white and middle class. I grew up listening to Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh remember Rushs bit during the Clinton years about "American Held Hostage?" I went to a Baptist church on Wednesday nights and Sundays, and I lived in a household where politics wasnt a dinner table discussion, nor was it something we seemed to ever talk about.

Many of you who identify as Republican or conservative in the wake of Jan. 6, the Trump presidency and the Dobbs decision have asked yourself the same question I began to ask myself in earnest about 15 years ago: Is this Republican Party really the party for me?

The answer has become a clear no for me.

On the economy, my former party has gone rogue.

I began my legal career in 2007 as a consumer bankruptcy attorney which I still am to this day working primarily with working-class and middle-class families. I spent the majority of my first four years in practice helping families across the socio-economic spectrum trying to save their homes from foreclosure, their cars from repossession and collection efforts from banks and corporations, especially payday lenders, who preyed upon these families. As the bailout was happening, I asked myself why the corporations were being bailed out, and families were losing everything.

On middle- and working-class families, my former party has given up.

I have been abhorred by the Republican Partys, particularly the Ohio GOPs, outright assault on middle- and working-class families. I witnessed this firsthand in the Ohio Legislature in 2010-2011 when I urged passage of a bill that would increase Ohios homestead exemption. After I testified in front of a House committee, I was able to watch floor debates; and, to my absolute horror, I listened as countless Republicans openly attacked Gov. John Kasich over Medicaid expansion and expressed disdain for the needs of our most economically vulnerable Ohioans.

And most recently on womens rights, my former party has rejected protections for personal rights.

I have always supported a womans right to choose, and there is no place in the party for a pro-choice Republican given the continued grip the religious right and lobbyists have on the party.

This horror has continued each and every time I have petitioned at the Statehouse, which has included two other memorable meetings: the time I heard an unnamed state senator refer to Ohioans as "you people" during a meeting with corporate lobbyists and two consumer groups about legislation over Ohios first data security bill, and a second time where I worked against a payday lending bill only to have the Republican representative repeatedly pause in his questioning as he was getting texts of questions to ask me from the lobbyist in the corner.

My only regret from May 8, 2018 was not making the decision to become a Democrat earlier.

The Republican Party has lost its way, and Im proud to be working with organizations across our state, like WelcomePAC (https://welcomepac.org/), that are committed to elevating candidates who can protect our state and our democracy from the GOPs radicalized positions.

It is my hope that sharing parts of my story inspires others to not only ask themselves the hard questions, but to also leave a party that now celebrates greed, corruption and oppression.

Brian Flick is Managing Partner and Cincinnati Office Director of Dann Law, with a practice that focuses on bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, appellate litigation, and other areas of consumer law.

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Opinion: I left the Republican Party because it has lost its way - The Cincinnati Enquirer