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With the opening of the Senate impeachment trial, the Republican Party has one last chance to redeem itself. Odds are slim this will happen.

Never has a Party been so thoroughly brow-beaten and cowed by a president. Its members are individually and collectively terrified of crossing a vindictive, vicious leader who has shown no hesitance to turn on anyone who opposes him. The trip from hero to hindquarter is a short one in this administration. So the party of small government finds itself bending over backward to grease the skids for the ascent of a president with dictatorial aspirations. How ironic.

In their blind lust to save their partys political dominance or their individual scurvy political careers, they have betrayed literally everything they claim to hold dear: the Constitution, the rule of law, limited government, family values, fiscal conservatism, respect for the institutions of government: all negotiable, all abandoned in defense of a president who has no commitment to any of those things.

The formerly Grand Old Party rolls over like beaten dog. Republican voters should take note: The heel-clicking and mouth-shutting being demonstrated by your senators and representatives today, will be demanded of you tomorrow. He who locks up other peoples children today will lock yours up tomorrow. He who would bomb other peoples religious monuments today, will attack yours tomorrow.

I sincerely hope 53 Republican senators are miraculously cured of their electile dysfunction and finally stand up for America. But Im not betting on it.

Ken Dammand

Tulalip

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Senate Republicans have final chance to stand for country - The Daily Herald

Nathan Sproul, opinion contributor Published 6:00 a.m. MT Jan. 26, 2020 | Updated 3:09 p.m. MT Jan. 26, 2020

Opinion: Arizona is becoming increasingly Democratic because it successfully wooed companies - and their workers - from more liberal states.

Downtown Gilbert isn't the sleepy place it used to be. Most cities have transformed as more people have moved to Arizona.(Photo: Michael Schennum/The Republic)

During the 2000 election, when I was the executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, the Bush presidential campaign launched a massive effort to woo the Hispanic vote throughout the Southwest.

They were convinced that the Southwest could be a problem for Bush unless he got Hispanic voters. He garnered 35% of the national Hispanic vote in 2000 and in 2004,garnered 44%. Their approach worked.

Arizona has been a reliablyRepublican state for decades. The Legislature movedfrom Democratic to Republican controlin 1966 and has flipped back only a handful of times since. A handful of Democrats have won statewide office over the past 50 years, but theyve been the exception, not the rule.

Most pundits have assumed that if Arizona were to revert to its Democratic roots of the '40s and '50s, it would be from the growing Hispanic vote tipping the scale. Within this paradigm of thought, its clear to see why Bush and many other Republican campaigns have focused their efforts on promoting policies that were viewed favorably by Hispanic voters.

Fast forward to 2018. Many political pundits were surprised to see how well Democrat candidates faired up and down the ballot in Arizona. Democrats won a U.S. Senate seat andstatewide offices like secretary of state. Theymaintained a 5-4 congressional majority and nearly won the majority of seats in both chambers of the Legislature.

In reality, this shouldnt have been a surprise. The signs have been coming into focus a few years now.

Even though 2018 was the midterm election, which historically goes against the party in the White House, I dont think the Republican president was the only reason for the 2018 Democratic victories.

It wasnt just a political correction or swing.I think its the likely trend.

In fact, we have been seeing for a couple of years now the underlying currents of Arizona going purple, and our swing-state statuswas finally realized in 2018.

The most important early warning sign for Republicans was likely the vote for the Legislature in 2016.

Take Senate District 18, for example. In 2012, Republican John McComish won by almost 6,000 votes. This is a district that, with the exception of Harry Mitchell (Tempe's iconic mayor), elected Republicans and not by a small amount.

After voting for McComish by historically normal numbers, it then flipped in 2016 and elected a Democrat by a little more than3,000 votes. By 2018, the same Democrat, Sean Bowie, gained much more momentum and won by almost 14,000 votes.

Voting precincts throughout Maricopa County that were reliablyRepublican precincts began to buckle in 2016 and then completely collapse in 2018. Its undeniable that precincts throughout Ahwatukee, Chandler, Peoria, north Phoenix and Scottsdale started seeing a Democrat edge to them that never existed before.

The important aspect of this data is that the increase in votes for Democrats didnt just happen in historically Hispanic areas. It happened in white, Republican suburbs.

That is significant.

Ten years ago, I lived in Gilbert. To say that it was a sleepy suburb of suburbs is an understatement. Three weeks ago, I went back for a Sunday lunch with my family. Downtown Gilbert is booming. It is no longer a town of families with lots of kids. It has become a town of 30-something young adults.

Gilbert isnt the exception to the new migratory patterns for Arizona. Im pretty sure this is the new normal. From Peoria to Surprise to Scottsdale to Chandler to Casa Grande to Marana and even Prescott, white urban professionals are moving here from places like California by the tens of thousands.

Why are they moving here? Arizona has successfully matured and diversified its economy.

In Gov. DougDuceys newest video, The Arizona Way, as accompanied online with his State of the State address last week, he showcased the business-friendly environment that cuts red tape, slashes regulation and invites innovation.

The result? A state of millions of citizens with a daily influx of 300 people. Thank you, Governor Ducey. Youredoing yourjob. But it cant help but change our states demographics.

When I was a kid growing up in the '70s and well into the 2000s, Arizona relied on tourism, retirement and construction. Since then, weve courted and successfully brought major corporations to Arizona. With them comes their employees.

News flash they arent all Republicans.

Over the past decade, weve seen states like Colorado and Virginia go from being reliablyRepublican to purple to Democrat. Why? They diversified their economies and their historic Republican identity changed. This is the same trajectory Arizona faces.

Ironically, everyone assumes that because we are a southwestern state, our shift from Republican to Democrat would be because of Hispanic voters.

While I do believe that the growth among Hispanic voters is part of the shift to purple status, the increase of the Democratic vote in historically Republican areas is because of the influx of white voters from other, more liberal states. This has been the factor that has tipped the scales more than any other and will increasingly continue to favor Democratic candidates.

What can Republicans do to turn the tide? Focus on lifestyle issues that incoming voters care about and away from divisive issues that brand Arizona as fringe.

The bottom line is simply this: Arizona is changing and its changing quickly. Republicans will either recognize this objective fact and adapt, or they will be the minority party soon.

Nathan Sproul is managing director of Lincoln Strategy Group and former executive directorof the Arizona Republican Party. Twitter:@NathanSproul.

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Republicans grew our economy - and in the process, turned Arizona purple - AZCentral

Democrats, including House impeachment managers, immediately seized on the report, arguing it underscores the need for Bolton and other administration officials to testify.

"Amb. Bolton reportedly heard directly from Trump that aid for Ukraine was tied to political investigations. The refusal of the Senate to call for him, other relevant witnesses, and documents is now even more indefensible," Pelosi tweeted.

"There is no defensible reason to wait until his book is published, when the information he has to offer is critical to the most important decision Senators must now make whether to convict the President of impeachable offenses," they continued.

The Times report comes asa curveball in the middle of Trump's impeachment trial, which could wrap as soon as this week.

Trump's legal team began presenting its defense on Saturday, includingarguing that the president's decision to hold up Ukraine aid was tied to concerns about corruption or a beliefthat Europe wasn't doing enough to support Ukraine.

The push for Bolton's testimony comes as the Senate could vote as soon as midweek on whether to allow new witnesses or documents. In addition to Bolton, Democrats want to hear from acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Mulvaney's adviser Robert Blair and Michael Duffey, an Office of Management and Budget staffer.

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Democrats step up pressure over witnesses after Bolton bombshell | TheHill - The Hill

Reaction from the basketball world and beyond on the death of retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash on Sunday at age 41:

Kobe was not only an icon in the sports arena, he was a man of the world and touched so many lives and communities in the most positive ways. His star was continuing to rise every day and he knew no limits because of his many intellectual and creative talents and desire to give back to others his passion for the game, for his family and for others was apparent in everything he accomplished. NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird

Jeannine & I are absolutely shocked to hear of the loss of one of my favorite people & one of the best basketball minds in the history of the game! Our hearts and prayers to Vanessa & his girls. @kobebryant you were my biggest fan, but I was yours. #RIPMAMBA NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell via Twitter

Just devastated to hear about #KobeBryant. An extraordinary athlete, and a genuinely kind, wonderful man. Sending love, prayers & compassion to his family. To his entire @NBA family as well. actress Reese Witherspoon via Twitter

As I tweet through my tears, I am so hurt. I cannot stop crying. Kobe was instrumental to so many people. There is a hole in the basketball world and there will be for a long time. Rest in heavenly peace. the Rev. Jesse Jackson via Twitter

Today we at @WaltDisneyCo mourn the tragic loss of @kobebryanta giant in sports and a person so full of life. Terrible news and so hard to process. Robert Iger, chairman and CEO of Disney, via Twitter

A true gladiator in our life time. You will be forever in our memories, our childrens memories, and generations to come. rapper Wyclef Jean via Twitter

Im at a loss for words. @kobebryant was a long-time friend, an inspiration and we shared our first ever commercial @espn together as professionals. I love you forever. #RIPMAMBA Retired NFL player Keyshawn Johnson

Shocked by the death of @kobebryant, an exemplary athlete both on and off the basketball court. Our most heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. Rest in peace. FC Barcelona football club via Twitter

Kobe Bryant Rest in Peace. Unbelievable, unbelievably sad NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas via Twitter

Kobe Bryant was a giant who inspired, amazed and thrilled people everywhere with his incomparable skill on the court and awed us with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, creative genius, and ambassador for the game he loved. Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles mayor, via Twitter

Kobe career highlights

Here are some of the many highlights of Kobe Bryants career. The former Los Angeles Lakers star was killed in a helicopter crash in California on Sunday morning:

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Kobe Bryant: Reaction to his tragic death; career highlights - Waterbury Republican American

The five Republicans running for the chance to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin all call for stronger efforts to thwart illegal immigration -- but they disagree about whether a wall across the Mexican border is the best solution.

During a joint endorsement interview Friday at the Daily Herald offices in Arlington Heights, three of the GOP hopefuls enthusiastically supported President Donald Trump's plan to build that border wall, sections of which have been erected. Two said they prefer other options, such as airborne drones.

The candidates in the March 17 primary are: retired information technology professional Casey Chlebek of Glenview; former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran of Libertyville; former police officer Peggy Hubbard of Belleville; Dr. Robert Marshall, a physician from Burr Ridge; and Dr. Tom Tarter, a urological oncologist from Springfield.

The winner will face Durbin, a four-tern incumbent from Springfield, in November.

Tarter said walls have reduced illegal immigration where they've been built along the border. He wants the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to get enough funding to complete 450 miles of wall.

"Walls work," he said. "This is why Democrats don't want them -- at least the open-border Democrats."

Tarter said the government should implement technology that will help detect the attempted importation of illegal drugs and track migrants.

Additionally, Tarter said immigration applications should use a merit-based system that awards points for work history, education, speaking English, community service and "evidence of assimilation."

Marshall said he's "100% in favor" of completing the border wall. He called for tighter immigration policies and said he opposes comprehensive immigration reform, calling it "a code word for amnesty."

Marshall said immigrants should have to meet three criteria to live in the U.S.: they should be able to support themselves; they should be able to speak English "to a minimal degree" or be willing to learn; and they "should love us and not want to blow us up."

Hubbard said she supports Trump's efforts to secure U.S. borders. Like Tarter, she said walls work -- but she also advocated using technology and putting "more boots on the ground" at the border.

Hubbard lauded the president for sending military troops to the border in 2018 as a caravan of migrants from Central America approached the U.S.

Hubbard supported shifting to a merit-based immigration system, too.

Curran was an outspoken advocate of immigration reform during the last eight years of his 12-year tenure as sheriff, which concluded in 2018.

In 2011, Curran said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should "quit wasting time breaking up families, because it makes America a lesser country." The following year, he backed a proposal that would allow people living here illegally to get driver's licenses so they could get to work.

On Friday, Curran said a wall across the southern border makes a statement about American sovereignty -- "but it's going to be very expensive."

Curran said drones and other high-tech security equipment could more effectively stop border incursions.

"We've seen all the videos of people going underneath the walls, and creating these tunnels," he said.

Curran also voiced concerns about radical Islamists getting into the U.S. "The wall alone is not going to keep America safe," he said.

Chlebek wants a different approach to protecting U.S. borders, too. Walls can be breached, he said, and the project is too costly.

Technology should make a border wall "irrelevant," Chlebek said.

"People are ready for it and expect it," he said.

If high-tech programs aren't implemented, however, Chlebek said he'd support completing the wall.

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Republican senate candidates disagree about whether a border wall is the solution to illegal immigration - Chicago Daily Herald

The House of Representatives passed the Equality Act with 236 votes for and 173 against.Eight Republicans voted in favor of the bill and no Democrats opposed it. Equality should not bea partisan issue.

The Equality Act would amend the Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of thesex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. A student of my advocacy class at Kean Universitywrote a compelling letter to the New Jersey Congressional delegation urging unanimous supportfor equality for the LGBT community, unfortunately it fell on Congressman Chris Smiths deaf ears. Michael wrote about a very close friend who was a member of the LGBTQ community who lives in the South and was outed by a coworker outed is the term used when someone reveals the sexuality or gender identity of another person without their consent. As a result, his friend was fired from his job with no warning. This occurred because Texas, where his friend lives, as well as 20 other states do not have discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community. As a result of this, he is currently unemployed and having a difficult time finding work.

In this day and age when Marriage Equality is the law of the land and assaulting someonebecause of how they identify is a hate crime, why is it that hard working Americans can still befired just because their identity doesnt conform to the norm that currently runs this country?asked Michael.

Good question. The Equality Act has been sitting dormant in the Senate Judiciary Committeesince May 20, 2019. The bill is sponsored in the Senate by 43 Democrats, 2 Independents, and1 Republican. 1 Republican! Susan Collins of Maine.

Dr King said, The Arc of Moral Justice Is Long But It Bends Towards Justice. When SenatorWeinberg and I called for a vote on same sex marriage in 2009, it only received 14 votes, oneRepublican and only 13 of 24 Democrats. It took the US Supreme Court years later, notlegislation, to make Marriage Equality the law of the land I proudly hosted New Jerseys first same sex marriage in my home in Elizabeth.

Can you imagine your son or daughter, nephew or niece, cousin or friend being fired from their job or denied renting an apartment because they are gay? Well, in 28 states they can. And only one Republican supports the Equality Act in the United States Senate and the only Republican member of the New Jersey House of Representatives delegation, Chris Smith, doesnt support it.

I dont mean this message to be partisan, although it is coming out that way, but thats just because the Republican Party is turning its back on the LGBTQ community in America. Equality belongs to all Americans. I ask the Republican leadership in New Jersey, Senator Tom Kean, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and Republican State Chair Doug Steinhardt to publicly state their support for the Equality Act.

Equality is not a partisan issue.

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Equality Should Not Be A Partisan Issue: Where Do Key Republicans Stand On It? - InsiderNJ

Commentary:Theres a rule at trials: when one sides lawyers have improperly lost evidence, hidden evidence, or refused to show the jury evidence in their control, the judge may order jurors to assume that evidence is bad for the side controlling and withholding it. Its a life rule, too: if the warm chocolate-chip cookies are disappearing, and your kid is hiding his hands behind his back, dont you infer something?

So why shouldnt Donald Trumps unprecedented, across-the-board stonewalling of legitimate Congressional inquiry raise questions in everyones minds?

Simple: Republicans dont want us to know the facts about Donald Trumps allegedly impeachable conduct.

Not only are Republicans refusing to call material witnesses (even John Bolton, who, as an ambitious Republican with dreams of political office, cant be allthatdangerous), but theyve imposed strict new rules on reporters to hinder the free flow of information from senators to us. Normally, credentialed press have free run of most areas in the Senate; theyre now restricted to a specific area, and reporters are forbidden to walk along with a senator, continuing a conversation, even if the senator is willingly participating.

The House heard some devastating witnesses to Trumps misconduct. Most were patriotic career foreign service folks, not politicians. Plus Trumps own Gordon Sondland, scared into telling the truth.

Some important things have happened since the House investigation. Notably, thenonpartisanGeneral Accounting Office concluded, after careful investigation, that Trumps political hold-up of funds approved by Congress broke a 1974 law enacted by Congress over Richard Nixons veto. And Bolton is now available a Trump appointee who mocked the Ukraine extortion plot as that drug deal, refusing to participate.

Republicans mumble that the House did its investigation and reached its conclusions, so theres no need for further witnesses. They toss out the red herring of subpoenaing Joe and Hunter Biden, who have no firsthand knowledge about Trumps actions or motives. The truth is simple: the facts are inconvenient.

Theres a reasonable argument that Democrats are wasting Senate time. Not because these arent high crimes and misdemeanors, but because Republicans have strong political motives not to consider the evidence and convict.

Federalist Paper 65 says, The most conspicuous characters [deciding impeachment trials] will be too often the leaders or the tools of the most cunning or the most numerous faction, and . . . can hardly be expected to possess the requisite neutrality. They foresaw Mitch McConnell, but hoped that when our country needed them, politicians might put conscience above politics as McConnell fears some might.

What would a fair trial look like? Republicans would acknowledge the actual evidence, and consider its weight. Theyd hear more witnesses, because Trumps lawyers deny the facts. Most importantly, both parties would forego political speeches to discuss the real issue: when a president violates the law by holding up, for political reasons, Congressionally-mandated aid to a beleaguered ally, is that misconduct sufficiently important that we should impeach, or at least censure him?

The allegations against Trump are more serious than those made against Clinton, and perhaps even those against Nixon. You could argue about the relative seriousness of burglary vs. extortion; both Nixons burglary and Trumps effort to use Ukraine to tip domestic political scales were antidemocratic; and the Ukraine aid concerned national security.

Whitewashing Trump whites out our Constitution. It tells future presidents they need not follow the law or provide Congress information. Is that what we want?

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Commentary: Note To Republicans- When You Are Innocent, Witnesses And Documents Should Be Welcomed - KRWG

I just watched Sen. Mitch McConnells opening remarks for the impeachment trial of the president. He stated, Our founders trusted the Senate to rise above short-term passions and factionalism. They trusted the Senate to soberly consider what has actually been proven and which outcome best serves the nation.

Trump tried to coerce foreign interference and sought to cheat in our 2020 election, and he endangered our national security by doing so. I watched and heard the witnesses in the House show over and over again just how true this was. If Trump is innocent, conducting a fair trial shouldn't be a problem. Invite the witnesses, hear what happened. Evidence from House impeachment as well as new evidence must be considered, given we hear new evidence almost daily.

We citizens know McConnell isn't being truthful when he says the House did not fairly present the case against the president. The senator gave an oath more than once. He claims to be a Christian, yet seems to ignore all the un-Christian-like and illegal behavior of the president. He should do the right thing and hold a fair trial. Trump is bringing down the Republican Party and our countrys values with corruption. I believe in Americas values and feel we must remove this president now. I hope the Republicans overcome their short-term passions and the factionalism they have helped cause in our country. They must do the right thing.

Kim Lawler, Beaverton

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Readers respond: Republicans must do the right thing - oregonlive.com

2020 Democrat Pete Buttigieg assured attendees and viewers of a Fox News town hall that he is not trying to trick Republicans into supporting him even though he aims to woo them.

"I'm meeting a lot of what I like to call 'future former Republicans' who are coming to my events. I'm not pretending we are going to agree on everything; I'm not trying to trick anybody," the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor said on Sunday. "But my message is that we can at least agree on this: That, if you're having trouble looking your kids in the eye and explaining this presidency to them, that you have a choice."

With one week until the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Buttigieg, 38, aims to gain support from voters who cast their ballots for President Trump in 2016. Part of his reasoning is that he is from the Midwest, an area that Democrats need to win in 2020 to secure the White House.

Buttigieg said he was effectively demonstrating his strategy by appearing on Fox News, a network that many Democratic presidential candidates, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have actively avoided.

"We are doing it right now. This network is known for having a lot of more conservative viewers. But I don't think that you have to be a Democrat to see what is wrong with this president and this presidency," Buttigieg said.

He continued: "If there's an American majority that can agree on what we're against, there is an even bigger majority that agrees on what we are for. Remember, I'm proposing things that most Americans, even in conservative states, think we ought to do: raising wages, making sure that corporations pay their fair share in taxes, delivering paid family leave, doing something about gun violence. You know, more than 80% of Republicans think we ought at least to be doing universal background checks."

Buttigieg is in third place in the RealClearPolitics average of Iowa polls with 17.8% support, while former Vice President Joe Biden holds 21% support and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has 20.6%. Many analysts believe a strong showing in Iowa is critical for Buttigieg's path to winning the Democratic presidential nomination.

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Buttigieg on plan to win over Republicans: 'I'm not trying to trick anybody' - Washington Examiner

The Democratic Partys informational ecosystem combines mainstream sources that seek objectivity, liberal sources that push partiality and even some center-right sources with excellent reputations. On any given question, liberals trust in sources that pull them left and sources that pull them toward the center, in sources oriented toward escalation and sources oriented toward moderation, in sources that root their identity in a political movement and in sources that carefully tend a reputation for being antagonistic toward political movements.

There is no similar diversity in the Republican Partys trusted informational ecosystem, which is heavily built around self-consciously conservative news sources. There should be a check on this sort of epistemic closure. A party that narrows the sources it listens to is also narrowing the voters it can speak to. And political parties ultimately want to win elections. Lose enough of them, enough times, and even the most stubborn ideologues will accept reform. Democracy, in other words, should discipline parties that close their informational ecosystems. But America isnt a democracy.

Republicans control the White House, the Senate, the Supreme Court and a majority of governorships. Only the House is under Democratic control. And yet Democrats havent just won more votes in the House elections. They won more votes over the last three Senate elections, too. They won more votes in both the 2016 and 2000 presidential elections. But Americas political system counts states and districts rather than people, and the G.O.P.s more rural coalition has a geographic advantage that offsets its popular disadvantage.

To win power, Democrats dont just need to appeal to the voter in the middle. They need to appeal to voters to the right of the middle. When Democrats compete for the Senate, they are forced to appeal to an electorate that is far more conservative than the country as a whole. Similarly, gerrymandering and geography means that Democrats need to win a substantial majority in the House popular vote to take the gavel. And a recent study by Michael Geruso, Dean Spears and Ishaana Talesara calculates that the Republican Partys Electoral College advantage means Republicans should be expected to win 65 percent of presidential contests in which they narrowly lose the popular vote.

The Republican Party, by contrast, can run campaigns aimed at a voter well to the right of the median American. Republicans have lost the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections. If theyd also lost six of the last seven presidential elections, they most likely would have overhauled their message and agenda. If Trump had lost in 2016, he and the political style he represents would have been discredited for blowing a winnable election. The Republican moderates whod counseled more outreach to black and Hispanic voters would have been strengthened.

Instead, Republicans are trapped in a dangerous place: They represent a shrinking constituency that holds vast political power. That has injected an almost manic urgency into their strategy. Behind the partys tactical extremism lurks an apocalyptic sense of political stakes. This was popularized in the infamous Flight 93 Election essay arguing that conservatives needed to embrace Trump, because if he failed, death is certain. You could hear its echoes in Attorney General William P. Barrs recent speech, in which he argued that the force, fervor and comprehensiveness of the assault on religion poses a threat unlike any America has faced in the past. This is not decay, he warned, it is organized destruction.

This is why one of the few real hopes for depolarizing American politics is democratization. If Republicans couldnt fall back on the distortions of the Electoral College, the geography of the United States Senate and the gerrymandering of House seats if they had, in other words, to win over a majority of Americans they would become a more moderate and diverse party. This is not a hypothetical: The countrys most popular governors are Charlie Baker in Massachusetts and Larry Hogan in Maryland. Both are Republicans governing, with majority support, in blue states.

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Why Democrats Still Have to Appeal to the Center, but Republicans Dont - The New York Times