Category Archives: Liberal

The song Chicago, made famous by Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, refers to Chicago as a toddlin town. Sadly today, thanks to decades of dreadful leadership, Chicago more resembles a tottering town, as in a place nearing collapse.

Let me preface my indictment of Chicago and particularly Mayor Rahm Emanuel with the important disclaimer that I love this city and Ive raised a family here for two decades. If cut, I would bleed the orange and navy of the Monsters of the Midway, my beloved Chicago Bears.

But no amount of hometown affinity can color the reality of a city in systemic decline. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that from 2015 to 2016, Cook County where Chicago is located lost more people than any county in America. A U-Haul rental from Chicago to Texas can cost as much as six times more than the return trip, an indicator of the heavy outward flow of people. Its no wonder people vote with their feet and escape the endemic corruption, escalating taxes, and rampant crime. As Ive argued repeatedly on Fox News, Chicago is certainly the most dangerous place in the developed world, with over 2,200 shooting already this year.

So what is Mayor Emanuel doing to address this migration out of our city? How is he ameliorating the mammoth $838 million property tax increase thats crushing disposable incomes in our city? Is he searching for solutions for the most under-funded pension system in America, obligations that will cripple our budget in just a few years? Is Rahm empowering police to stem the bloody carnage that afflicts the streets, especially in predominantly black neighborhoods?

Chicago, like other blue cities, has pursued a so-called sanctuary city policy, whereby police are forbidden from alerting federal authorities when they arrest someone for a crime and that perpetrator is also in the United States without permission.

No. Instead, Mayor Emanuel is wasting time and focus and resources on suing the Department of Justice for daring to enforce federal law. Chicago, like other blue cities, has pursued a so-called sanctuary city policy, whereby police are forbidden from alerting federal authorities when they arrest someone for a crime and that perpetrator is also in the United States without permission. I prefer the term Renegade Cities because such politically correct nonsense hardly provides sanctuary to the victims and cops forced to deal with criminal aliens who are allowed to hide in plain sight.

The real world ramifications of such willful disregard for federal protections can prove horrible, as evidenced just last week in Portland, Oregon, where local police ignored an ICE deportation order for a 20-times deported illegal immigrant, who was then released and committed a brutal sexual assault on a 65-year-old woman sleeping in her own home.

Chicago is a tottering town a fiscal and public safety implosion. Mayor Emanuel would do well to address our very real and imminent problems rather than posturing for liberal elites and trying to turn the Justice Department and federal law enforcement into the bad guys.

Steve Cortes is a Fox News contributor, former Trump campaign operative and spokesman for the Hispanic 100. For two decades, he worked on Wall Street as a trader and strategist.

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Chicago Mayor Emanuel would rather posture for liberal elites than enforce the law - or fix his city - Fox News

DENVER A free market guy like the Independence Institutes Jon Caldara normally doesnt have much in common with progressives, except when it comes to ballot measures.

Liberal activists are furious after spending millions of dollars to pass left-wing ballot initiatives in November in states such as Oklahoma, Maine and South Dakota, only to see Republican lawmakers use their legislative muscle to gut, modify or outright repeal them this year.

Mr. Caldara feels their pain. A frequent sponsor of right-tilting ballot measures in Colorado, he has watched for years as Democratic state legislators chip away at a conservative favorite: the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, passed by voters in 1992.

The coup de grace came in June, when the Colorado state legislature voted to levy a charge on hospitals without putting the issue on the ballot, even though the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, also known as TABOR, requires all tax increases to go before the voters.

There is no better poster child for the political system destroying an initiative by the citizenry, Mr. Caldara said. Let me say it really clear: TABOR is dead. The Taxpayer Bill of Rights, for all intents and purposes, is dead in Colorado.

In other words, the left now is learning the hard way what the right has long known: Just because the voters pass a ballot proposal doesnt mean the state legislature wont fight it.

For years, state ballot measures were the go-to mechanism for conservatives shut out of the lawmaking process by Democrats. But with Republicans in control of 32 state legislatures 33 with the nonpartisan Nebraska unicameral the citizen initiative process increasingly has morphed into a tool of the left.

Seventy-six initiatives appeared on U.S. ballots in November, the highest number in more than a decade, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts Stateline blog, and many were from the left, including minimum wage increases, tax hikes and criminal justice reforms.

Justine Sarver, executive director of the liberal Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, cited 2016 progressive ballot triumphs on raising the minimum wage in four states, increasing taxes in two and providing workers with mandatory sick leave in two states. She predicted those wins are only the beginning.

At BISC we are already more than one year into a multi-year, multi-state, proactive strategy, Roadmap to 2020, which will put measures on the ballot to address economic inequalities and expand access to democracy nationwide, Ms. Sarver said in a January press release.

In Maine, voters approved a marijuana legalization initiative as well as three left-wing measures an overhaul of the election system, a tipped minimum wage hike and a 3 percent income tax increase for top earners but the euphoria for the winners was short-lived.

No sooner had the Legislature convened than Republicans took on the measures, repealing the income tax hike, watering down the minimum wage law with the support of restaurant servers who feared it would reduce their incomes and securing a statement from the Maine Supreme Court indicating that swaths of the ranked-choice voting system were unconstitutional.

Ironically, the progressive ballot victories came even as Republicans gained ground in the Maine Legislature.

Its a result of the frustration that they have that they cant get these bad policies through the Legislature because we have a governor who will veto destructive policies, said Jason Savage, Maine Republican Party executive director. Instead, theyre just going directly to the ballot to pass their utopian ideas and not even trying anymore.

Will of the voters

The Republican Partys dismantling came at a price. In July, Maine Gov. Paul LePage briefly declared a partial government shutdown as lawmakers wrestled with headaches triggered by the passage of the measures, which dominated the legislative session.

It puts us in a defensive posture defending taxpayers, defending peoples freedom, defending the Constitution, said Mr. Savage. It would be a lot nicer for Republicans to talk about the policies that they think would help people instead of undoing policies that are hurting the economy or violating the Constitution.

There is no end in sight: Maine progressives already have placed an initiative on the November ballot to fund an expansion of Medicaid.

While Maine may represent the most extreme example of progressive ballot activism in Republican-dominated political territory, the Pine Tree State isnt alone.

In South Dakota, Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed in January a repeal of Initiated Measure 22, a campaign finance proposal passed two months earlier with pressure from a liberal Massachusetts advocacy group, after a court found it unconstitutional.

In Oklahoma, two ballot measures backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and approved in November were promptly met by Republican-sponsored repeal legislation. The bills failed, and the initiatives to reduce certain drug and property crimes to misdemeanors took effect July 1.

Progressives who have rallied behind efforts to shift their focus to the ballot initiative have decried Republican efforts to derail the measures, which include moves by state legislatures to make qualifying for the ballot more difficult.

What all these attacks have in common is a blatant contempt for the will of the voters, Ms. Sarver said. Conservatives disregard for ballot measures is especially hypocritical because they were once an important political tool for them.

Of course, conservatives also have had their best-laid ballot measures upended by Democrats. Exhibit A is same-sex marriage.

Voters in California approved same-sex marriage bans twice, in 2000 and 2008. The first time, the Democrat-controlled State Legislature voted to repeal the measure, only to have Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger veto it.

As attorney general, Jerry Brown refused to defend the traditional marriage initiative in response to a lawsuit, forcing the measures sponsors to hire private counsel. The legal challenge ultimately prevailed.

In the case of marijuana legalization, Democratic and Republican legislators in several states essentially have deferred the decision to voters. But on other issues, there is often a reason a proposal has not cleared the legislative process.

Generally speaking, its true that if the legislature thought it was a good idea, they would have done it already, said Craig Burnett, Hofstra University political science professor. Almost every policy proposed by initiative is almost by construction out of sync with what the legislature wants. If they really wanted it, they could have done it already.

That means passing the ballot initiative is only the first step. The real work begins afterward, Mr. Caldara said.

It all goes back to [Thomas] Jefferson saying the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Thats what this is, he said. Its not a victory until you secure and defend it year after year. Because they will find a way.

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With Republican turnaround, state legislatures now foil liberal ballot measures - Washington Times

You know what happens when you give control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives to the Republicans? They begin fighting with each other. But its not a phenomenon unique to the GOP by any means. The same thing can happen to either party at the state level and thats whats currently going on with the Democrats in California. Having no suitable foe to fight from the other party, the furthest left wing of the state party is currently launching an effort to recall Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. His crime? Failing to push through a single payer state operated healthcare system which would have likely bankrupted the Golden State before the decade was up. (Associated Press)

Democrats control every lever of power in California state government, and free from worrying about major losses to Republicans, theyre training fire instead on each other.

The latest example is a recall effort against Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a strong progressive now targeted by party activists upset that he derailed a bill seeking government-funded health care for all.

The Rendon recall comes as the California Democratic Party contends with a protracted leadership battle that is as much about donors and messaging as it is about ideals. It follows a contentious battle among environmentalists over the states cap-and-trade law to fight climate change, which some thought was too deferential to oil companies.

One thing you can always say for the Democrats is that theyre dedicated to being subtle. Thats exemplified by this charming image showing up at protests around the state.

The California Nurses Association takes credit for the altered state flag showing the bear with a knife in its back, but they claim theyre not involved in the recall. (I assume that means that its a grassroots effort.) But that doesnt mean that the natives arent restless.

The single payer scheme (SB-562) managed to pass the state senate on a party line vote, but on June 23rd it was shelved in the Assembly by Rendon. Check out the unreasonable list of frivolous complaints he had about it at the time. (LA Times)

SB 562 was sent to the Assembly woefully incomplete, Rendon said in a statement. Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill, including the fact it does not address many serious issues, such as financing, delivery of care, cost controls, or the realities of needed action by the Trump Administration and voters to make SB 562 a genuine piece of legislation.

Rendon took pains to note that his action does not kill the bill entirely because it is the first year of a two-year session, it could be revived next year.

So Rendon was rude enough to point out that the plan provided no way to pay for the $400B price tag, had an incomplete structure for the actual delivery of healthcare, contained no measures to stop consumer costs from skyrocketing further and ignored the fact that the White House and Congress were unlikely to go along with the federal financial support it would require. What a jerk! Who goes around nitpicking over little things like that when there are liberal headlines to be made?

Perhaps the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in California can pull this off. Who knows? They might manage to recall Rendon and replace him with some sort of Sanders Warren style firebrand who will push single payer through, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. And then when California eventually goes bankrupt and asks the rest of the country to bail them out well see a different sort of revolution on the west coast. Either that or grant them their Calexit wishes and build a wall around the entire place.

The rest is here:

California Dems to recall their own Assembly Speaker for being insufficiently liberal - Hot Air

Supporters of marriage equality march through Sydney on Sunday as the Coalition government gets set to debate its policy. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

Five Liberal MPs released an unprecedented joint statement in support of Dean Smiths marriage equality bill, attracting overwhelming support from advocates as the Liberal party prepared for a bruising debate in a special party room meeting.

But the outcome of the issue remains in play, as Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure from supporters to allow a free vote and opponents urge him to stick to the policy of a plebiscite.

The prime minister called the meeting to allow discussion after Smith made it clear he was preparing the bill to come before the parliament. The Liberal meeting will not start until 4pm and it follows the National party meeting on Friday, which supported the existing plebiscite policy.

After the Liberals meet, the Coalition will have to come together again for the joint party room meeting on Tuesday morning ahead of parliament where any outcomes could be further raked over.

Smiths bill has forced the Coalition party room to resolve whether to allow a conscience vote as John Howard had done in the past on the abortion drug RU486, stem cell research and euthanasia.

Labors manager of opposition business, Tony Burke, promised not to use marriage equality to spark a no-confidence motion in the Coalition government. The majority of Labor MPs support the change though it is understood a small group of four MPs are opposed. Four of the five crossbenchers also support change, with only Bob Katter opposed to marriage equality.

Smiths bill would redefine marriage as a union of two people, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life and include all lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people and relationships.

In a joint statement, Smith, Warren Entsch, Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson and Trevor Evans said the marriage bill was the first to introduce protection for the views of ministers of religion and Australian defence force chaplains, while creating a new class of religious marriage celebrants.

Zimmerman said delivering marriage equality would strengthen family life.

We believe marriage to be a fundamental institution in Australian life and ensuring all couples have access to it will be beneficial to individuals, couples, families and the community, and will strengthen Australian family life, said Zimmerman.

Evans said it was time the political stalemate was broken and the bill was passed to allow the parliament to move on.

Entsch, the Coalitions longtime campaigner on the issue, said the issue was about real peoples lives.

LGBTI people are our brothers and sisters, friends and work colleagues. They just want the same dignity as everyone else in their families. Lets just do this, Entsch said.

On Sunday, Smith warned his conservative colleagues that a future Labor bill would not contain such religious protections.

The bill closely reflects the recommendations of the consensus Senate report, which unanimously rejected several proposed forms of discrimination against LGBTI people, including the ability for civil celebrants to reject their weddings.

The bill would confirm the requirements for a legally valid marriage otherwise remain the same under the Marriage Act, by introducing non-gendered language to ensure the requirements continue to apply equally to all marriages.

The bill would also enable same-sex marriages solemnised in another country to be recognised in Australia.

It would also create a new category to include for religious ministers from independent religious organisations as well as existing marriage celebrants wanting to perform marriages consistent with their religious beliefs.

Existing registered celebrants who are not ministers of religion would have 90 days to notify in writing that they wish to be identified as a religious marriage celebrant based on their beliefs. These formerly civil marriage celebrants would be required to advertise their services as a religious marriage celebrant.

If the bill is passed, there would also be a new category of officers to solemnise marriages of members of the Australian defence force overseas.

The bill would allow ministers of religion to refuse to solemnise a marriage in conformity with their religions doctrine.

Bodies established for religious purposes would be able to refuse to provide facilities, goods or services on the grounds of their religion.

The co-chair of Australian Marriage Equality, Alex Greenwich, said the bill represents the most robust and genuine approach to achieve marriage equality that the parliament had seen.

Its passage will fulfil the hopes of loving and same-sex couples to get married, and truly reflect Australias shared values of fairness and equality, Greenwich said.

Anna Brown, co-chair of the Equality Campaign, welcomed the bill and said it was in keeping with the roadmap set by the bipartisan Senate report agreed on earlier this year.

Weve been waiting for marriage equality for a long time and now our politicians have the opportunity to make it a reality with a bill that reflects the hard work and extensive consultation undertaken by a Senate committee earlier this year, said Brown.

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Marriage equality: five Liberal MPs back Dean Smith's bill ahead of bruising debate - The Guardian

Much to the chagrin of many liberals, President Donald Trump on Saturday clarified what would be happening on his 17-day New Jersey vacation.

In a tweet seemingly directed at those who opposed the presidents vacation, Trump claimed that the vacation was not what it seems.

Working in Bedminster, N.J., as long planned construction is being done at the White House, Trump explained in a tweet. This is not a vacation meetings and calls!

CNN on Friday called the president a hypocrite for taking the vacation, and claimed that Trump was not supportive of former President Barack Obamas decisions to take vacations.

CNN contributor Dean Obiedallah wrote, Recall that Trump had regularly skewered Barack Obama for taking vacations while he was President, and had even tweeted, quoting from his own book, that if you like your job you dont need a vacation. Dont take vacations, he wrote in Think Like A Billionaire. Whats the point? If youre not enjoying your work, youre in the wrong job.

Obiedallah continued, While Trump is clearly not deserving of a 17-day vacation only six months into his new job, we, the people, desperately need one!

Typically presidents, like Lincoln, will visibly age while in office, he wrote. In this case, Trump is doing a reverse-Lincoln: he is aging all of us. That is, all of us who are responsible for his dismal 33% approval rating.

Others including late-night show host Stephen Colbert who infamously went on a vulgar, expletive-laden rant against the president in May, sarcastically said that the president earned his vacation.

Hes earned it is a phrase that you dont say about Donald Trump, Colbert said during the Friday airing of his CBS show.

Comedian Chelsea Handler tweeted on Friday about the presidents vacation and said, Trump is leaving for vacation. Lets hope its like that vacation that Bill OReilly went on.

Originally posted here:

Amid liberal backlash over vacation, Trump explains the real reason behind New Jersey trip - TheBlaze.com

Critics say it differs from most mainstream examples of the genre because the Black male character is not an early victim or the bad guy.

Jordan Peele'shorror Get Out is not just an excellent movie addressing racial politics in the United States, it has also made a lot of money, according to a recent report published by The Wrap.

RELATED: Southern US College Alumnae Record Details of Racist Rituals

With US$217 million in profits and a 630 percent return on investment, Peele's directorial debut ranked first, before another horror movie, M. Night Shyamalans Split which recorded a 610 percent return.

Both features were produced by Blumhouse Pictures, which specializes in horror movies made with small budgets.

As for Get Out, Peele was initially allocated a US$4.5 million budget.

That's turned into an impressive US$252.4 million profits at the box office worldwide so far this year including US$175 in the United States alone.

The critically-acclaimed movie focuses on an interracial couple, with Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) meeting the parents of his white, liberal girlfriend (Allison Williams) for the first time it soon turns into a literally horrific encounter.

Peele wanted the audience, regardless of race, to see the subtle racism through Chris' eyes.

"It was very important to me to just get the entire audience in touch in some way with the fears inherent [in] being black in this country," Peele said. "Part of being black in this country, and I presume being any minority, is constantly being told that ... we're seeing racism where there just isn't racism."

"Get Out" has benefited from being embraced by reviewers, earning a rare 100% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

While critics such as the Wall Street Journal's Joe Morgenstern hailedits "explosive brilliance" and the New York Times' Manohla Dargis praised it as "exhilaratingly smart."

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Liberal Racism Horror 'Get Out' Is Most Profitable Film of 2017 - teleSUR English

After the election of 2016, as many others, I was surprised, disappointed, and fearful. So as a result I frequently liked or shared a number of the liberal sites of Facebook. There were just a few progressive sites that showed up on my Facebook page and I would respond to them.

Now eight months later it seems that the number of those democratic, progressive, liberal sites has multiplied ten-fold. They almost seem to dominate my entire Facebook site. Many of them have shown up uninvited by me and unacknowledged by me.

The thing that is a bit disturbing is that the claims and the statements that are reported on these more liberal sites are, indeed, almost fake news. There is the constant refrain that something has happened that will surely bring the current administration to an end. This new event that is breaking news will be the end of atheist Trumps presidency. Or maybe, one of the children will be expelled from the White House, or the smoking gun on Russian involvement has just been discovered. Every day these kind of extreme exaggerated claims are put forth on these liberal sites. The claims they make are seldom supported by stories from the major news sources of the New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR or BBC. These liberal sites seem to be contributing to the climate that encourages this great debate about what is fake news and where is honest reporting. These sites may think they are inspiring the liberal base, but this hardly seems the best way for that to happen.

The other thing that is appearing is the consistent commenting on these liberal, progressive sites a barrage of alt-right attacks. A negative, vile, locker room attack is now the first comment under each of these liberal post. The impression that is given is that this is an organized and systematic program of insulting the posts and the people who read them. The names of the people who post these nasty and hateful comments are not your standard, normal names. These comments have no content other than curse words, vulgar slurs on the people who like these sites and to gloat that the atheist Trump will be president for eight years.

In this nasty and deeply divided society, with all kinds of people and ideas trying to manipulate the public, one has to wonder whether the Republican party has enlisted a group of people to be active in attacking these liberal sites or whether perhaps the liberal sites themselves have put these vile comments there to evoke from the readers more responses and more participation.

As Kris Kristofferson said it is getting harder to separate the winners from the losers, the good guys from the bad guys.

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

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Who Is Saying All Those Mean Things About Liberals? - HuffPost

A compromise plan to resolve the Coalition's internal split over marriage reform is the most likely outcome from Monday's special policy meeting. After all, the alternative could lead to the ugliest divorce in the Liberal Party's history.

Right now, the twin risks of a one-seat majority and entrenched unpopularity have focused Coalition minds, prompting MPs to rethink a looming bare-knuckle political fight with existential implications.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls an emergency meeting of the Liberal Party to debate same-sex marriage.

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Terror suspects are 'entitled to the presumption of innocence', says Michael Coroneos of his clients Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat, charged with plotting to bring down a plane.

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Qantas Flighst Q63 to Johannesburg and QF7 to Dallas have been forced to return to Sydney after one suffered wing flap problems and the other a crack to the outer pane of a cockpit windscreen just hours into their flights. Vision: Network Ten.

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Police have released more details about the plot to place a bomb on a flight out of Sydney, as they charged two people with terror offences.

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and other Liberal MPs have taken aim at the media as talk continues about a same sex marriage plebiscite.

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A transcript of the infamous first call between PM Malcolm Turnbull and US President Donald Trump has been leaked, revealing more details about the tense exchange.

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Mahmoud Khayat from Punchbowl and Khaled Mahmoud Khayat from Lakemba have been charged with the alleged plan to bring down a plane at Sydney Airport.

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Satirist Mark Humphries examines the federal government's $4 an hour internship to see how it's benefited young Australians. The Feed on SBS Viceland, 7.30 weeknights.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls an emergency meeting of the Liberal Party to debate same-sex marriage.

As they say in Canberra, in the race of politics, always back the horse called self-interest - at least you know it's trying.

Of course, nobody can say for sure because this argument is in the hands of the Liberal party room.

Experience teaches that once a dispute disappears into that opaque forum, inflammatory things can be said, tempers can fray, unlikely decisions can be taken. Or discerned.

Outcomes range from the clever to the perverse.

Ironically, the deeply problematic plebiscite is a telling recent example of the latter, operating as an immediate electoral negative, and leading inexorably to the Prime Minister's current exquisite dilemma.

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Transparently, the plebiscite was a delaying tactic that arose from the creative post party room interpretation by the then prime minister Tony Abbott - whose own leadership had sprung from another notoriously weird meeting in 2009.

So, with those caveats, what shape would a compromise take? The best bet is that it would contain three elements, none of which contemplates a voluntary postal ballot - an idea too silly for words.

Stage one would be another attempt to drive the plebiscite bill through the Senate.

Assuming that fails given that the numbers upstairs have not moved, the other elements would kick in: reform advocates would accept that the plebiscite remains Coalition policy for the balance of this term. Reformers would concede this because conservatives would agree to a shelf-life, allowing the government to retire the plebiscite boondoggle and take the promise of a free parliamentary vote to the next election.

For conservatives, it buys another delay of up to 2 years, which is always their goal. For reformers, it buys the clear promise of a parliamentary conscience vote. And for Turnbull? Peace.

Plus, he resolves a diabolical election problem allowing him to match Labor's timetable for delivering marriage equality via a swift parliamentary route.

Finally Turnbull would have a policy he could live with.

It's a win-win-lose. The latter group, obviously, being LGBTI couples denied the right of marriage. Again.

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Liberal party room showdown: The selfish marriage deal to avert an ugly divorce - The Sydney Morning Herald

Albany Common Council member Judd Krasher (Times Union archive)

Albany Common Council member Judd Krasher (Times Union archive)

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Frank Commisso Jr., an Albany Common Council member who is running in the Democratic mayoral primary (Will Waldron / Times Union)

Frank Commisso Jr., an Albany Common Council member who is running in the Democratic mayoral primary (Will Waldron / Times Union)

Albany City Council President Carolyn McLaughlin who is running in the Democratic mayoral primary(Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Albany City Council President Carolyn McLaughlin who is running in the Democratic mayoral primary(Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Ugliness erupts when liberal Albany Democrats clash

If you need more evidence that the nastiness of national politics exists locally, look no further than the Facebook vitriol Maureen O'Brien threw at Judd Krasher.

For those of you who don't follow Albany politics and are no doubt happier for it O'Brien is co-chair of the supposedly progressive RFK Club and secretary of the Albany County Democratic Committee.

Krasher, meanwhile, is a sitting member of the Common Council. He's also gay and has made no secret of his decision to participate in "conversion therapy," which claims to make gay men straight, when he was 18 and growing up in Berne.

That was the basis for the attack by O'Brien, who is apparently upset that Krasher isn't backing several female council candidates.

O'Brien wrote: "Judd Krasher. We know your family is ashamed of you. Don't take it out on good people."

That's ugly, but O'Brien wasn't done. In a series of subsequent comments, she went on to call Krasher "a sorry little sad sack" and "a narcissistic little whiney man" before somehow finding it within herself to type this (the typos are hers):

"Poor baby forgets what it's like to be a minority whose family sent him to therapy to 'fix him.' But I a syspect it's a different fixing he needs."

As you can imagine, all this was plenty upsetting to Krasher, and his mother, Bonnie Krasher, was even more outraged. She saw O'Brien's words as an attack on the whole family, which, to be clear, was not involved in Krasher's choice to seek conversion therapy.

"We don't want to be portrayed like that," Bonnie Krasher told me. "We never turned on him because he was gay. We are the furthest thing from ashamed of Judd."

Krasher and O'Brien are both very liberal. But Krasher believes he's being attacked because he has refused to toe the progressive line. Most notably, he's supporting Commisso over Sheehan.

"It's part of this ongoing pattern of behavior from these self-professed progressives who are unbelievably intolerant of dissenting opinion," Krasher said. "They will say anything to silence dissenting views."

O'Brien did not respond to a request for comment.

***

Is anybody else surprised that the Albany mayoral race has been so quiet?

That may change as the contest we're talking about the Democrat primary enters its final stretch before the Sept. 12 vote.

Of course, incumbents always have a huge advantage in Albany, where a sitting mayor hasn't been toppled since James Henry Blessing defeated Thomas Van Alstyne in that shocker 118 years ago.

But the seeming serenity thus far would seem to be an added advantage for Mayor Kathy Sheehan, whose two primary opponents, Frank Commisso Jr. and Carolyn McLaughlin, have struggled to find issues that resonate with voters.

I'm not sure that most Albany residents feel that the city is better than four years ago, but I haven't seen either Commisso or McLaughlin give voters a compelling reason to turn against the sitting mayor.

There's still time.

***

If you're one of those people who insist there's no diversity in suburbia, I'd suggest a visit to Zaitoon Kitchen. The halal eatery sits on a stretch of Route 2 in Latham that is emerging as a small hub for great food.

Like many Colonie businesses, Zaitoon is tapping into the growing diversity of the town.

According to census data, 10.3 percent of Colonie's population is foreign-born, with more than half of the immigrants from Asia. By comparison, 11.5 percent of residents of Albany were born outside the country.

Yes, the city is more diverse overall, but the stereotype claiming that suburbia is whiter than Wonder Bread is badly outdated.

cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill

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Ugliness erupts when liberal Albany Democrats clash - Albany Times Union

Everyone knows that Salt Lake County which contains Democratic Salt Lake City and 40 percent of the states population is more liberal than Utah as a whole.

But how much more liberal?

Well, the 13 state House Democrats and five state senators are all from the county, most around Salt Lake City.

Thats one measurement.

But we also have demographics as provided by years of polling by UPDs expert, Dan Jones of Dan Jones & Associates.

Lets take a look at some of those numbers for the county, and compare them to the state as a whole.

First off, Utah is a very Republican state. It hasnt voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

It hasnt elected a Democratic U.S. senator since 1970. And it hasnt elected a Democratic governor since 1980.

Yes, weve had some Democratic U.S. House members usually winning because they carried their section of Salt Lake County by large margins, evening winning a number of traditionally Republican voters.

The last was former Rep. Jim Matheson, who retired from the House in 2015. He had to jump from his 2ndDistrict into the new 4thDistrict after the GOP-controlled Legislature redrew the U.S. House districts in 2011, making it even tougher for a Democrat to win a congressional seat.

Lets look at some of Jones demographic numbers:

-- Across the state, 52 percent say they are Republicans.

-- Only 17 percent identify with the Democratic Party.

-- 28 percent say they are political independents; they dont belong to any party.

-- And 7 percent say they belong to some other party, like the Green Party or the Constitution Party. (The so-called Tea Party is not a real political party in Utah, but an anti-establishment, anti-government political movement.)

Now, look at the makeup of Salt Lake County (according to Jones latest UPD poll.):

-- Only 30 percent of county voters say they are Republicans.

-- Democrats jump up to 27 percent of county voters.

-- Independents are 35 percent.

-- And members of other parties come in at 7 percent, just like statewide. (Although there would be more Greens in this group, fewer Constitution Party members.)

So you see that Democrats pick up ten percentage points more in the county compared to statewide, and independents pick up seven percentage points more.

How about political philosophy?

Jones finds statewide:

-- 25 percent self-identify as very conservative.

-- 33 percent, a third, say they are somewhat conservative.

-- 17 percent say they are moderate, or in the middle.

-- Only 15 percent of Utahns say they are somewhat liberal.

-- And 9 percent say they are very liberal.

In Salt Lake County:

-- Only 18 percent say they are very conservative.

-- 24 percent (or a fifth) say they are somewhat conservative.

-- 16 percent say they are moderates.

-- While 24 percent say they are somewhat liberal.

-- And 16 percent say they are very liberal.

Big differences here, dont you think?

Put the two conservative groups together statewide, and Utah is 58 percent very or somewhat conservative or right of the middle.

But look at Salt Lake County, and only 42 percent say they are on the conservative side.

Statewide, only 24 percent, or one-fourth, of Utahns say they are liberals, either somewhat or very.

In Salt Lake County, 40 percent give themselves the liberal title.

Considering that liberal is sometimes a nasty word in Utah these days, and has been for years, that is rather remarkable.

Theres little doubt that the unpopularity of GOP President Donald Trump, who calls himself a conservative but really doesnt hold the title very well in Utah probably has something to do with more Salt Lake County folks being willing to accept the liberal title nowadays.

It is to be expected that the Salt Lake City mayor while to job is officially nonpartisan would be a Democrat. In fact, not since the mid-1970s has a Republican held that job.

But Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams is also a Democrat, and was a moderate Democratic state senator before he won the county mayorship six years ago.

The county council is 5-4 Republican, with Democrats holding the district attorney, clerk and sheriff posts in county government.

There are 29 state House seats wholly or partly in Salt Lake County. Democrats hold 13 of those seats, with Republicans at 16.

There are 11 state Senate seats wholly or partly in the county; Democrats hold five, Republicans six.

It was clear during the 2011 legislative redistricting that the majority Republicans were going to protect their incumbent House and Senate members in Salt Lake County.

And they did, telling Democrats in the House and Senate they could determine their seat boundaries, as long as they clearly gave up at least one House and one Senate seat their minority members being combined in some manner.

If you split up the political independent percentages evenly in the county giving half to Republicans and half to Democrats than Democrats in the House and Senate are batting below their percentage averages, but only slightly.

UPD calculations show 44.5 percent for Democrats, and 47.5 percent for Republicans and the parties are about at that with 6 GOP Senate seats (5 for Democrats) and 16 GOP House seats (13 for Democrats) in the county.

Democrats won two additional House seats in the county last year defeating Rep. Sophia DiCaro, R-West Valley, and getting the open seat left by retiring Rep. Johnny Anderson, also R-West Valley.

At various times during an extended count, Democrats also led in three other GOP House seats, losing them when the final canvas was counted.

No seats changed hands in the 2016 state Senate elections, and it looks like redistricting there shored up both Democrat and GOP seats in the county.

Finally, lets look at religious preferences statewide and in Salt Lake County.

There have been some well-publicized combining of LDS wards and stakes in Salt Lake City and the northern part of the county in recent years.

Jones figures show:

-- Statewide, 52 percent of Utahns say they are very active in the Mormon Church meaning they are likely tithe-paying members who have recommends (passes) to do religious work in LDS temples.

-- 7 percent say they are somewhat active in their LDS faith.

-- 4 percent say they were once Mormons, but are no longer practicing that religion.

-- 19 percent statewide say they have no religion.

In Salt Lake County:

-- 38 percent say they are active Mormons.

-- 4 percent say they somewhat are LDS.

-- 4 percent say they are no longer Mormons.

-- And 33 percent a third say they have no religion at all.

Thus, the county is much less Mormon than the rest of the state.

In fact, faithful Mormons are actually in the minority in the county, Jones latest demographics show.

In this analysis, Jones latest poll is of 607 adults statewide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.98 percent.

The Salt Lake County sample was of 216 adults, with a margin of error of about three times the statewide numbers.

Should a proposed non-partisan approach to redistricting in 2021 get on the 2018 ballot and pass, we could see more Democrats elected inside of Salt Lake County than in 30 or 40 years.

But Utah, as a whole, is safely in the Republican column for decades to come, it appears.

More:

Analysis: Just how liberal is Salt Lake County? - Utah Policy