Category Archives: Liberal

For being supposedly progressive, the left has an unhealthy obsession with death. Kathy Griffins appalling photoshoot made headlines earlier this week when she presented the decapitated head of Donald Trump in an ISIS-style video. By joking about killing the president, Kathy Griffin inadvertently killed her career instead. Griffins extreme expression is a symptom of the lefts increasingly violent fantasies about its ideological opponents that is permeating entertainment and liberal journalism.

Its one thing to protest the sitting president, but polemics characterize everything Trump does as the second coming of the Third Reich. That prompts many of his detractors to see him as less than a person, and more of a monster in the Oval Office.

In a music video in March, Snoop Dogg performed a mock assassination of a clown dressed as Trump. Aside from a tweet by Trump, outrage towards the video was minimal, probably because of hip hops propensity for acting out violence upon effigies of famous contemporary figures.

The normalization of violence towards publicly elected officials isnt confined to the realm of entertainment. As a symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome, liberal journalists, too, have succumbed to fantasizing about the presidents assassination. In April, chatlogs leaked by former BuzzFeed staffer Tim Treadstone Gionet to Big League Politics revealed conversations between BuzzFeed staffers who discussed the possibility of Trumps assassination in a joking manner. Fox News Tucker Carlson invited BuzzFeeds Ben Smith to discuss the sites political leanings following the leak, but Smith denied that the reporters on his staff were political activistsdespite all evidence to the contrary.

Its not just political journalists either. A gaming journalist, Phil Kollar,publicized his exceedingly woke fantasies about watching House Speaker Paul Ryan die.

Yall ever stop and spend a while thinking about how awesome it would be if Paul Ryan died in a horrible, gruesome accident? Asked Kollar, an editor for the Vox Media-owned publication Polygon.

Like hes walking down the steps of the capital building and he trips and does this incredible pratfall, just tumbling feet over head, he continued. And then when he gets to the bottom of the steps theres a pack of feral dogs that begin attacking him. Hes screaming for help and his colleagues have gathered at the top of the stairs and are watching him get ripped apart but too scared to act. [sic]

Kollar asked if anyone else shared his disturbing fantasy, and encouraged others to share their own fantasies about Paul Ryans death. Do yall ever think about this? Is it just me? he asked.

Perhaps realizing the sick nature of his fantasy, Kollar disingenuously wrote: To be clear, Im not saying Paul Ryan should die. That would be awful. I just think about that accident a lot.

Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe, who said he was planning an armed resistance against Trump, shared his own dream with Kollar. I think about empty elevator shafts with piles of rusty needles at the bottom, he wrote.

Kollars tweets received widespread condemnation on Twitter, prompting him to eventually delete them.

The cancerous rhetoric that permeates the left has transformed liberal journalists into social justice warriors, whose biased narratives underline their coverage of the news. In the lefts constant othering of conservativism and the center, the left has become the very monster it wants to slay.

Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at@stillgray on Twitterand onFacebook.

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Liberal Entertainers, Journalists Can't Stop Fantasizing About Violence Toward Trump - Heat Street

Protesters rallied Saturday in nearly 130 U.S. cities to call for what they consider the need for more thorough federal investigations into whether President Trumps associates colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential elections.

The rally in Washington on the National Mall washeld within blocks of a pro-Trump rally outside of the White House.

The sides reportedly clashed briefly at the pro-Trump Pittsburgh Not Paris rally but no major incidents so far have been reported.

"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris, Trump said Thursday in announcing that the United States would withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, in which industrial nations have agreed to limit greenhouses gases. It is time to put Youngstown, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ... before Paris, France.

Organizers for the "March for Truth" rallies Saturdaysay theirobjectiveis tolet our elected leaders know that Americans want answers.

And they suggest the nationwide rallies are not part of the so-called resist Trump efforts, saying, The legitimacy of our democracy is more important than the interests of any party, or any president."

However, they also say their primary goals include getting an independent commission established for the Russia investigations, keeping the public as informed as possible and getting Congress to demand that Trump release his tax returns.

And sponsors include such liberal-leaning groups as SwingLeft, Progressive Democrats of America and the National Organization for Women.

Eventually, you wake up with a knot in your gut about what the president might do or say, John Lovett, who was a speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, said at the Washington, D.C., rally. We can take back the White House.

NOW President Terry ONeill told protestors: The Trump administration is going after immigrants, and we wont stand for it. I am up against implacable efforts to stop women from having access to health care.

Trump protestors and supporters have clashed and disrupted each others events numerous times since essentially the start of the 2016 presidential election cycle.

Among the most recent incidents occurred Wednesday night, when Trump supporters disrupted a California Democratic Rep. Lou Correas town hall in Orange County.

In March 2016, protests and scuffles forced the cancellation of a Trump rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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'March for Truth' rallies call for answers on Russia, Trump - Fox News

New York Times

Sara Ehrman, Outspoken Feminist With Deep Ties to Clintons, Dies at 98 New York Times Sara Ehrman, a fixture in liberal politics who advised President Bill Clinton on the Israeli-Arab conflict but was best known as the woman who advised a young Hillary Rodham not to move to Arkansas to marry Mr. Clinton, died on Saturday in Washington. and more »

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Sara Ehrman, Outspoken Feminist With Deep Ties to Clintons, Dies at 98 - New York Times

When it comes to unraveling liberal hypocrisy, Fox News host Tucker Carlson is arguably the best man for the job. And on his show Friday, it took Carlson just 90 seconds to completely dismantle liberal outrage over President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Progressives across the country and around the world expressed outrage this week over Trumps decision to withdraw from the agreement. But many of those expressing outrage, including world famous Hollywood actors and businessmen, typically fly around the world in private jets that expel mind-boggling amounts of carbon dioxide the exact substance climate alarmists say is the cause of climate change.

Carlson explained on his show Friday that despite the fact that those upset about Trumps decision have not bothered to explain whats actually in the Paris agreement, they assure us that that deal is the solution to the single most gravest threat this planet has ever faced: rising levels of atmospheric CO2.

Theyre dead serious about that. You can tell by the outraged looks on their faces and the purple rhetoric, Carlson said. But hold on for a minute. Can we really be sure that these people take carbon emissions seriously?

To answer that question, Carlson said his team compared what the progressives say to how they live.

They examined the lives of billionaire businessmen Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Bill Gates, in addition to Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio and Hillary Clinton.

Branson says fossil fuels are dangerous and he calls Trumps decision America first, Earth last. Now on the other hand, Branson owes a Desault Falcon 50EX private jet and it burns more fuel on a single flight to Maui than youre gonna go through in a lifetime of trips to the shore, Carlson explained.

Elon Musk, meanwhile, is mad about global warming too. Yet he flies around in a Gulfstream G6500ER. Bill Gates says hes deeply concerned yet he still commutes in a $62 million bombardier BD700 global express. Can you imagine the gas milage that gets? Carlson continued.

Leonardo DiCaprio says Trumps move threatens the livability of our planet and yet DiCaprio flew a private jet 4,000 miles from Cannes, France, to New York to accept a climate award and then flew back privately, Carlson went on to explain.

Hillary Clinton tweeted that Trumps pullout was a historic mistake that leaves American workers and families behind. And yet, speaking of workers and their families, there probably werent a lot of those onboard last year when Hillary used a private jet to fly 20 miles from Marthas Vineyard to Nantucket for a fundraiser, Carlson added.

Trump announced his decision to withdraw the U.S. from the climate deal, which was agreed to under former President Barack Obama, on Thursday.

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Watch: It takes Tucker Carlson just 90 seconds to completely destroy liberal hypocrisy on climate change - TheBlaze.com

Liberal comedian Bill Maher used the n-word on his HBO show within earshot of Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), and liberals are now attacking the Republican for not being sufficiently horrified.

Black Lives Matter leader Deray McKesson tweeted that Bill Maher had to go over what he said. There are no explanations that make this acceptable, he adding, why did the audience think it was okay to laugh? And Ben Sasse doesnt even flinch. What is happening in the world?

The joke came as Sasse was innocently inviting Maher to his home state of Nebraska.

I wish I was in Nebraska more, Maher said.

Youre welcome! Sasse responded. Wed like to have you work in the fields with us!

Work in the fields? Maher chided, Senator, Im a house n****r.

Audience reaction to the joke was mixed some seemed to be uneasy with the joke, but they were overtaken by the laughter and applause from those who enjoyed the jest.

Liberals have taken the opportunity to attack the senator, even though he had no part in the epithet being used by Maher, who is himself an unabashed liberal.

Joy Reid is an MSNBC host, and she excoriated both Maher and Sasse.

Symone Sanders is the former press secretary for Bernie Sanders:

Others criticized the occurrence on social media:

Some pointed out that Sasse did appear to cringe momentarily at the joke and draw back. On the other hand, Daily Beast editor Marlow Stern said that he laughed his face off.

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Liberals attack a Republican Senator because a liberal said something racist - TheBlaze.com

Vice President Mike Pence appeared on Fox & Friends Friday to tout President Donald Trumps decision to leave the Paris Agreement combatting climate change, and painted the issue as one of partisan politics.

For some reason or another, this issue of climate change has emerged as a paramount issue for the left in this country and around the world, Pence said. Its long been a goal of the liberal left in this country to advance a climate change agenda.

Pences remarks entirely ignore the consensus among climate scientists that humans have significantly contributed to global warming. And in framing the issue as one of right versus left, he also brushes aside the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change, including food shortages, floods, fires and irreparable damage to wildlife.

Hes also disregarding that some of his fellow Republicans have also urged action on what he describes as the climate change agenda.

Pences comments, of course, echo a familiar refrain from the right. Many conservatives have attempted to paint climate change as a partisan issue promoted only by the left, or simply punt on the issue by pleading ignorance. But the reality is that its not just Democrats who are concerned about global warming.

Recent polls also show that many Republican voters including those who sided with Trump in the 2016 election believe man-made climate change is real and is something to be concerned about. A HuffPost You/Gov poll earlier this year found that 61 percent of Americans supported staying in the Paris Agreement, including 31 percent of Trump voters surveyed. A Morning Consult/Politico poll conducted in April found that most Americans are concerned about climate change, including 50 percent of Republicans. And a March Gallup poll found that 68 percent of Americans believe humans are causing global warming.

There have also been efforts on the right to make climate change action a priority for the GOP. Nineteen House Republicanssigned on to the Republican Climate Resolution calling for congressional action on global warming, and many of those same members have joined a bipartisan caucus focused on climate issues. Bob Inglis, a former GOP congressman from South Carolina, formed RepublicEn, a conservative climate advocacy group. And as Reuters reported, college Republicans at campuses across the U.S. are increasingly in favor of actively combatting global warming, suggesting a generational shift looming for the party.

And, contrary to Pences comments, there are plenty of moderate and right-leaning politicians who have publicly warned of the dangers of rising global temperatures.

Here are just some prominent figures on the right who have acknowledged that climate change is a real and pressing threat to humanity, and are advocating for action:

2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Trumps secretary of state has previously expressed support for the Paris Agreement, and reportedly lobbied Trumpto stay in the deal.

After Trumps announcement, he said he hopes the U.S. will reduce greenhouse gas emissions despite leaving the accord.

I dont think were going to change our ongoing efforts to reduce those emissions in the future either, so hopefully, people can keep it in perspective, he said.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry

Perry, the former Republican governor of Texas and GOP presidential candidate, also supported staying in the agreement. He advocated for renegotiating the U.S.s commitment rather than fully withdrawing.

Perry, however, expressed support for Trumps decision following the announcement.

Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)

One man cannot destroy our progress, one man cant stop our clean energy revolution, one man cant go back in time. Only I can do that, Schwarzenegger said in a video on ATTN following Trumps announcement, referencing his role in the Terminator films.Like all the great movements in human history, our clean future starts with a grassroots movement in our communities, our cities and our state.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine)

Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.)

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.)

The Paris Agreement isnt perfect. But by abandoning it, America is relinquishing that seat at the table. It calls into question our commitment to protecting and preserving the environment. And it forfeits our ability to drive countries like China and India to reduce their carbon footprint and compete on a level playing field. Ultimately, this disappointing decision diminishes Americas leadership role on the world stage.

Former GOP congressman and founder of RepublicEn Bob Inglis

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)

United States innovation and business leadership have been key drivers to lowering our carbon emissions over the last 20 years, and we should continue to have an influential seat at the table as the rest of the world addresses these issues. Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is misguided, and harms the ongoing effort to fight climate change while also isolating us from our allies.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Murkowski addressed Trumps decision on Thursday, KTOO reported:

My hope is that with the presidents decision to go this route it does not mean that we fall back as a nation on our efforts to address and mitigate on the impact that we see from a warming climate, she said. Because we see it here in this state and it is real and I think weve got an obligation to help address it.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)

Alexander is one of few Senate Republicans who has acknowledged the existence of man-made climate change.

According to the Times Free Press, Alexander said in a statement Friday that while he doesnt think withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is catastrophic for climate progress, he believes the most important thing the United States can do to solve our energy and climate challenge is to double funding for basic energy research.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R)

The Presidents decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement is disappointing and concerning, particularly given the widespread and non-partisan support from business and political leaders for remaining in the Agreement.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)

Although Graham expressed support for the decision to leave the Paris accord, he has previously acknowledged the gravity of climate change.

I have come to conclude that greenhouse gases and carbon pollution is not a good thing, Graham said in 2010. Whatever political push back I get, Im willing to accept because I know what Im trying to do makes sense to me. I am convinced that reason, logic and good business sense, and good environmental policy, will trump the status quo.

ExxonMobil chief Darren Woods

Woods, who has donated to GOP campaigns, wrote a personal letter to Trump last month urging him to stay in the agreement. As the Financial Times reports:

Mr Woods argues that staying in the accord will mean the US keeps a seat at the negotiating table to ensure a level playing field for all energy sources, and can argue for the most cost-effective greenhouse gas reduction options and support for innovation

Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris

Liveris, whose company gave $1 million to Trumps inauguration, was the driving force behind a letter from 30 major company executives backing the deal, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon

The frequent GOP donoralso urged Trump to uphold the U.S.s commitment to the international pact.

Defense Secretary James Mattis

Earlier this year, Mattis cited climate change as a national security threat.

Climate change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today, he said in written testimony to the Senate Armed Forces Committee. It is appropriate for the Combatant Commands to incorporate drivers of instability that impact the security environment in their areas into their planning.

Former Defense Secretary and GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel

Hagel has also said global warming should be considered a security threat.

Preparing for climate change is about risk even if we do not understand every aspect of the scientific predictions, we know that the consequences of not acting may be significant, he wrote in a 2015 Time op-ed.

Former Secretary of State George Schultz

Schultz, who served as the head of the State Department under Ronald Reagan, warned of the dangers of climate change in 2013.

If you wait until youre boiling, you may have missed your moment. You have to look and see whats happening, and act on the basis of that, he said.

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Actually, Mike Pence, Climate Change Has Nothing To Do With A 'Liberal' Agenda - HuffPost

In the small fishing village of Mousehole, assistant harbormaster Bill Johnson dismisses most of what is being said in the run-up to the U.K. election as a lot of gobbledygook.

Gibberish aside, the 60-year-old is clear on one thing. A year after voting for Brexit, hes turning from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives, the only party he trusts to complete Britains withdrawal from the European Union.

A local shop in Mousehole.

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Theresa Mayneeds a mandate to push things through on Brexit,said Johnson in his office overlooking the little harbor with its sailboats, kayaks and paddle boards. Shes the only one going in with a strong line.

Johnsons switch illustrates a dilemma for the traditional third party in British politics, whichsuffered a near wipe-out in the last election and is running on an unabashedlypro-EU platform targeting the 48 percent of Remainers. Problem is, it'sgetting the cold shoulder. Even as Mays poll lead is waning, the main beneficiary isJeremy Corbyns Labour Party.

In the closing stages of the election, assumptions have been turned on their head, from Mays initial commanding advantage in public opinion to the theory that the Liberal Democrats could sop up support among almost half of the population that had never wanted Brexit to come to pass.

Unfortunately for the Liberal Democrats, it is stuck in the polls around the 10 percent mark, little more than the 8 percent they won in the 2015 election.

Thats why places like Mousehole, described by the poet Dylan Thomas as the loveliest village in England,matter to a party fighting for political relevance as it seeks to regain a foothold in itsformer stronghold of southwest England. The region stretches from Cornwall to the rolling hills of the Cotswolds, taking in cities such as Bath, known for its Roman baths, and Plymouth, from where the Pilgrim Fathers departed for the Americas in 1620.

Surfboards and kayaks propped up against the harbor wall in Mousehole.

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

The Liberal Democrats sensed a shot at a comeback when May called a surprise snap election, arguing she needed a personal mandate and a bigger majority to stand up to the EU in negotiations. They too would make Brexit their strong suit: by opposing it.

Ten minutes after Mays election announcement on April 18, Liberal Democrat LeaderTim Farronrushed out a short statement tellingvoters that this election is your chance to change the direction of our country and avoid a disastrous hard Brexit.

But the Brexit message is always going to be a difficult one to fight because it seems to go against the notion of democracy,said Thom Oliver, a politics lecturer at the University of the West of England and a Liberal Democrat expert.

The offer to revisit the 2016 decision with a second referendum at the end of the Brexit talks may work in cosmopolitan London but further afield could go down as sour grapes given that the party lost that argument, he explained. In fact, for some Liberal Democrats campaigning for a seat in the southwest, its simply not a selling point.

Andrew George.

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

My answer to the Brexit question is its going to happen, you cant stop it, theres not going to be a second referendum, whatever Tim Farron says, said Andrew George, 58, the partys candidate for the St. Ives seat, a district where Johnson and 55 percent of voters chose Brexit. All this theoretical posturing is kind of irrelevant.

All but three of the 15 seats the party lost in southwest England in 2015 voted for Brexit.

George represented St. Ives in the House of Commons for 18 years until the partys electoral annihilation two years ago, when it lost all but 8 of the 57 seats it took in 2010. Hes focusing his campaign on local issuesnot Brexit, but is nevertheless downbeat about his prospects: I think the Tories will edge it here.

Weighing on Georges chances are a number of other factors: U.K. Independence Party voters switching to the Tories, an influx of retirees swelling the ranks of Tory voters, and a change in the district boundaries in 2010 that turned St. Ives from a stronghold into a marginal seat.

The town of St. Ives.

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

After a few missteps, May has retrenched into campaigning in areas that Tories hold rather than her earlier, more ambitious play to destroy Labour bastions in the north. On Wednesday, when a shock survey showed the election could resultin a hung Parliament, May showed up in Bath, a seat the Liberal Democrats are trying to wrest back. It's also one of those southwestern bulwarksof the `Remain' vote on Brexit.

Voters here in the southwest are vitally important for this election, May said. In 2015 at the last election, your votes gave my party 15 more seats. If I lose just sixof those, then the government risks losing its majority, and we risk Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister.

Johnson, the harbormaster, isnt the only Brexit supporter turning to May. April Westlake, 78, also voted for the Liberal Democrats in the last election butthinks May is just what the country needs right now.

We need a lady like her to get us out of the mess were in,she said of the prime minister while out walkingher French bull terrier in Marazion, a postcard-pretty village opposite St. Michaels Mount, a tidal island topped by a castle and chapel.

Peter Freeman.

Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

The same goes for Peter Freeman, the 68-year-old owner of a charter boat business in St. Ives. A longtime Liberal Democrat voter, he switched to UKIP in 2015 and now doesnt trust his old party. They want to interfere in the Brexit negotiations to weaken Theresa Mays hand, he said. Shes the only one I can see who will get the best result.

Still, for every Conservative supporter Bloomberg found, there was a Liberal Democrat to match, suggesting itll be a tight race and anything can happen.

Shirley Beck, who says she was the only Labour Mayor in the West country in 1993, istoying with the idea ofvotingfor the Liberal Democrats in St. Ives.

Why? Nothing to do with Brexit. Its because George supports re-openingthe local hospital.

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Britain's Liberal Enclaves Are Turning Tory - Bloomberg

If you just graduated college with a degree in the liberal arts, there's good news for you.

First of all, average salaries for new college graduates are at an all-time high, according to executive search firm Korn Ferry.

The class of 2017 will make an average $49,785 annually, it said. That's up 3% from last year.

We know that your choice in major certainly matters. Yes, grads with science, technology, engineering and math degrees are on a fast track to a big paycheck. The five highest-paying fields analyzed by Korn Ferry are in the STEM fields. Entry-level engineers can expect to earn $63,036 on average.

But that doesn't mean liberal arts majors can't get there.

Related: How to pay off your student loans faster

Your career choice also plays a big role in how much you earn, and for liberal arts majors, career options are pretty broad, according to a new report from The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution.

Ryan Nunn, an author of the report, said he was shocked to see just how much variety there actually is among people with the same major.

The most popular occupation for people with degrees in communications is a manager in marketing, advertising, and public relations. They actually do earn above average, with a median salary of $56,000 for 25- to 34-year-olds.

But that kind of position is held by less than 5% of those graduates, according to data from The Hamilton Project.

And sometimes a liberal arts major needs another degree to get ahead.

More than 5% of those with a degree in English or literature make a median salary of $69,000 before the age of 34 by getting their law degree and becoming lawyers or judges. They're earning nearly $140,000 by the end of their career.

Broke No More: How can I pay off my student debt and still have a life?

Psychology majors end up in a number of different fields, like teachers, social workers, counselors and, of course, psychologists.

Those who become psychologists start out earning the most -- about $49,000 a year -- and end up making about $80,000 by age 34, though nearly all of them have an advanced degree.

The most popular occupation for psychology majors is a counselor. About 8% of them go into that field, but they start out making a median salary of just $37,000.

Your job can explain up to 25% of the variation in earnings within the same major, the report said.

Take the often criticized philosophy major. About 1.2% of them will enter the corporate sector and become management analysts earning a median salary of $72,000, while the 8% who become college professors earn $51,000.

"There's a lot of variety across majors, but STEM majors do have a more clear path to the higher paying jobs," said Nunn.

Are you starting your first job? We'd love to hear about how you landed the gig and how it's going. Share your story by emailing Katie.Lobosco@cnn.com.

CNNMoney (New York) First published June 2, 2017: 11:33 AM ET

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Liberal arts majors can get high-paying jobs, too - CNNMoney

Clark,after anews conference in Vancouver in which she admitted her government is likely doomed (Darryl Dyck/CP)

Imagine the Pittsburgh Penguins had left Sidney Crosby home for the Stanley Cup finals. The guy who told his teammates We can win this again, before the champagne had even run dry during last summers Stanley Cup celebrations. Their best offensive force, now entering the legacy-building stage of his career, who some nights seems to grind his way to a W on the force of will alone. To the B.C. Liberals, Christy Clark is Sidney Crosby.

She clinched a 2013 election victory not one pundit thought she stood a chance of winning, carrying her caucus on her back. She took a majority. Two years previous, shed won the Liberal leadership with the support of a single Liberal caucus member. Like Crosby, her best nights came when the odds were stacked against her. Like the Kid, people accuse her of being addicted to winning. Both have innate talents that cant be taught. For Clark, its the smile, the charisma, the boundless optimism. This spring, the fixed writ dropped just as she entered a legacy stage of her own.

Perhaps not surprisingly for a premier who fashions herself after the late W.A.C. Wacky Bennett, a right winger who ambitiously grew B.C.s a highway and ferry systems, Clark chose two massive infrastructure projects to mark her legacy: the $9-billion Site C dam, the largest hydroelectric project in B.C. history, and the $3.5-billion Massey Tunnel replacement, which was slated to become the largest bridge ever built in B.C.

But when the May 9 vote left her one seat shy of a majority, she needed a dance partner to stay on. The Greens went in minds wide open, says one member of the party with knowledge of the talks; they negotiated in good faith with both the Liberals and John Horgans NDP before settling on the latter earlier this week, throwing both of Clarks legacy projects into doubt (the NDP plans to punt Site C to the utilities commission for review, and Horgan reiterated this week that he will defer to the mayors when it comes to a decision on the 10-lane bridge).

READ MORE: Big changes in store for B.C. under NDP and Greens

It begs the question: why did the Liberals leave Clark out of negotiations, especially in the home stretch? With few scheduled meetings and speeches, and nothing in the way of media engagements, it is hard to imagine the premiers schedule was too jammed up to work them in. She wasnt even in her Victoria office, choosing to remain in her waterfront bureau in Vancouver, at the whim of ferry and flight schedules. She relied on her consiglieri, Mike McDonald to read the room and phone in his takeaway from the days deal-making. Her other negotiators included W.A.C.s grandson, Brad Bennett, a party donor Clark appointed to head BC Hydro; her finance minister, Mike de Jong; and the garrulous MLA Mike Bernier, the former Dawson Creek mayorthere to schmooze, one person present explained.

(Several sources for this story because they had signed non-disclosure agreements).

Whatever her reasoning, in absenting herself, Clark allowed Weaver and NDP leader John Horganwho arrived at the first meeting looking pale and anxious, according to one person presentto form a tight bond over the course of marathon negotiations. There was no love lost between the two men. During the campaign, Weaver had famously castigated Horgan for his temper, suggesting it could make cooperation with the Greens difficult. During the televised debate Weaver and Clark double-teamed the New Democrat leader, taking shots by turn. But as hours turned into days, a genuine warmth and friendship between Weaver and Horgan opened up, say those present; they came to see they had far more in common than either had ever realized. This includes a shared love for both rugby and paintball (yes, really).

When Weaver was first elected in 2013, cynics in the press gallery snickered at his enthusiasm and endearing navet. None is laughing now. Weaver turned out to be a surprisingly good strategist with a deft political touch, playing the two teams off one another, forcing the New Democrats, for example, to move up their planned fall session to summer, by warning them the Liberals had caved to their request to immediately recall the legislature. Youre going to have to do better, he told Horgan.

RELATED: NDP-Green pact lowers curtain on B.C. Liberal reign

Going into the weekend, some believed the Liberals held the advantage; in addition to the recall concession, theyd agreed to the Greens demands for official party status, campaign finance reform, even a referendum on proportional representation. But thats as close as they came.

Mid-Sunday, their team called the Greens in a panic, having apparently been tipped off that a deal with the NDP was imminent. The Greens agreed to bump up their Monday morning meeting to that night.

They met the Greens at Victorias Coast Harbourside, a mid-range waterfront hotel near Fishermans Wharf, a moorage with float homes, fresh seafood and a trio of portly harbour sealsone missing an eyeknown to beg for scraps. The Greens expected they would come with an offer in hand. They brought less than nothing, negotiators say.

Their team was spent. There had been no post-election breather for the three-person caucus. After a hard-fought 30-day campaign, Weaver and his two rookie MLAs, teacher and historian Sonia Furstenau and WSNE businessman Adam Olsen were almost immediately thrust into gruelling negotiations. They hadnt seen their kids in weeks, and were surviving on hotel food, bad coffee and Diet Coke.

That night, however, Weaver, was really on, says one negotiator. He was passionate and emotional, deriding the Liberals for ragging the puck, that is, deliberatelydragging their feeton the climate change file. Late in his tenure, former premier Gordon Campbell had a come-to-Jesus moment on the science of planetary warming, refashioning the B.C. Liberals as climate leaders, introducing North Americas first carbon tax and legislating emissions targets. Clark, however, froze what was meant to be a rising carbon tax, allowed B.C. to fall hopelessly behind on targets, and halted regulations on vehicles, fuels, buildings and waste management aimed at reducing emissions. These were real sticking points, said one Green negotiator.

RELATED: John Horgans roller-coaster ride on B.C. election night

None of the Greens are career politicians. Furstenau and her husband are part of a climate advocacy group that travels to Ottawa and Washington, D.C. to lobby politicians on their own dime. We were never in it to win, said one MLA. We went into politics to inject new ideason climate policy, participatory democracy, engagement. On May 9, the Green negotiator said, the cards fell in the most fascinating way possible, allowing us to put those ideas on the governments agenda.

By 9:30 that night, it was clear to Greens there was no hope of a Liberal deal, said one negotiator. Supporting the NDP was risky; had they thrown support to the Liberals, a strong majority would have ensured their desired legislation was passed. But in the end, we could not see ourselves supporting a continuation of that government, one negotiator explains.

Weaver and Horgan speak to media after announcing theyll be working together to help form a minority government THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Weaver had made up his mind that night, but he slept on it, and the following morning advised Liz Lilly, his chief of staff, to alert the NDP. Lilly then called Bennettto give him the bad news. The Liberals say they felt sandbagged by the decision, which the Greens consider curious. They felt Weaver had been crystal clear Sunday night: they were fed up with the Libs?, and the yawning gap betweenthe two parties was too greatto close. Later that morning, Weaver, a University of Victoria climate scientist who has published 16 academic papers since entering politics, ducked into the PhD thesis defence of his final grad student, shutting off his cell phone. He emerged hours later to join Horgan in the grand foyer of the provincial parliament buildings. Clark, still in Vancouver, tried reaching him one last time by cellphone. The premier left a message, then tried texting him, asking Weaver to call her. But by then it was too late.

Bernier says the Liberals, like the Greens, stuck to their core values in negotiations. And in the end, Clarks presence in Victoria may not have much mattered. Thats certainly the spin from the Liberal camp. They are also telling their foot soldiers to rally around the leader, that they will quickly be returned to power when the NDP minority government falls.

And yet Clark only endorsed Kinder Morgan in 2016. Would she have been willing to cave, and withdraw her support for the pipeline expansion project? Would that have been enough to push an agreement past the goal line? Would frank talk and promised of glory from the premier have helped? We may never know. But in do-or-die negotiations, a deft populist so skilled at the game of politics seems a bizarre healthy scratch.

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How the B.C. Liberals squandered their chance to keep power - Macleans.ca

SACRAMENTO It seemed like a sure bet for another display of Californias ultra-blue Resistance: Fresh with outrage over President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the Democratic-dominated California Assembly considered a bill to curb both global warming and air pollution.

But in a surprising twist that illustrated how Californias Legislature isnt as knee-jerk liberal as the rest of the country thinks, the lower house rejected theclosely watched climate bill late Thursday night. To the dismay of environmentalists, it fell eight votes short amid a force that even politicians in Sacramento are not immune to: industry opposition.

Within its Democratic supermajority, Californias 80-member state Assembly includes business-friendly moderates known as Mod Dems who heed the state Chamber of Commerces list of job-killer bills.

And then there are the Democratic legislatorsfrom swing districts in more conservative parts of the state. With their seats on the line every two years, Assembly membersare in constant campaign-mode.

The Assemblys political complexity could doom big proposals coming its way this summer from the more predictably progressive Senate from bail reform to universal health care.

The health care measure, by Sens. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, would replace private health insurance in California with a government-run health care system thathas energized the partys Bernie Sanders supporters and other progressives. But its sure to have a cooler reception among more centrist Democrats.

The universal health care bill passed out of the Senate Thursday without a funding plan, but it has long odds of making it through the Assembly especially once it includes the tax provisions needed to pay for it. Tax increases require a two-thirds vote in each house.

Asked to predict the bills chances in the Assembly, Assemblyman Adam Gray, a moderate Democrat from Merced, responded, I would think zero.

Gray called the Senates decision to release the bill without funding details an example of juvenile, irresponsible government.

Bill Whalen, a research fellow at Stanfords Hoover Institution, said Californias progressive proposals will generally hit two very big and very realistic speed bumps: a handful of lawmakers who listen to the business community and act accordingly, and the second speed bump is (Gov.) Jerry Brown.

Brown, who has fashioned himself as a fiscal moderate and the political grownup, has expressed skepticism about the challenges of creating a universal health care system in California. Many Capitol observers speculate he will veto any measure that comes to his desk.

If the governor sends such signals or even if he stays silent that gives cover to more centrist Democrats who tend to follow his lead on fiscal matters, Whalen said.

The governor has called on the Legislature to extend Californias signature cap-and-trade program which regulates greenhouse gases past 2020, but he has so far been silent on specific proposals, such as Assembly Bill 378, by Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens. Thats the bill that failed late Thursday.

Garcias bill would have set emissions restrictions on individual power plants and factories, and it was fought by Big Oil and the powerful State Building & Construction Trades Council, which argued that the restrictions would hurt business.

The bills decisive failure caused sharp disappointment among the partys environmentalists.

Vanderwarker said she was struck by the disconnect between the anti-Trump rhetoric throughout the day and the vote tally 33-39 which fluctuated for well over 30 minutesas some Democrats went back and forth over whether to support it.It lost even thoughAssembly leaders thought they had the votes.

When it comes time to taking the tough votes and standing up to industry to make the changes that will directly improve the lives of low-income communities and communities of color, we dont see the votes, Vanderwarker said.

Hector Barajas, a longtime Republican Party strategist who now runs a public affairs firm representing the bail-bonds association and other business interests, said he generally finds the Assembly to be more receptive than the Senate.

Theres a little more independent thinking on the Assembly side, he said. If youve got something thats impacting jobs or impacting how we build youre probably going to have a more willing ear to listen to you over on the Assembly side than on the Senate.

Opponents of the bail-reform legislation warned it would create public safety risks and cause job losses throughout the bail-bonds industry.

You, the taxpayer, will pay to release these criminals, Duane Chapman, known as Dog the Bounty Hunter, said in a robo-call to some 800,000 phone lines last month. Car thieves, burglars, sexual predators and repeat offenders will get out of jail with little accountability, and we will not be able to go after them when they run.

As identical bail-reform measures by Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, and Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, headed to the floor of each house, Barajas said, lobbyists tried to make their case to each chamber, but they had less success in the Senate.

We were able to have a nice, open discussion a lot more with members of the Assembly, he said.

Hertzbergs bill to eliminate county bail schedules and replace it with a safety risk assessment of pre-trial detainees sailed out of the Senate on Wednesday, 26-11, even picking up some Republican support. But it could soon hit a roadblock.

Bontas bill failed late Thursday, 36-37, on the Assembly floor.

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Is California's Legislature ultra-liberal? Not so fast - The Mercury News