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  12. <title>News - Washington Examiner</title>
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  15. <description>Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government</description>
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  31. <item>
  32. <title>Sarah Huckabee Sanders says Arkansas won&#8217;t comply with federal transgender student protections</title>
  33. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/education/2989649/sarah-huckabee-sanders-arkansas-comply-federal-transgender-student-protections/</link>
  35. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Annabella Rosciglione]]></dc:creator>
  36. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 02:57:46 +0000</pubDate>
  37. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
  38. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  39. <category><![CDATA[Arkansas]]></category>
  40. <category><![CDATA[LGBT]]></category>
  41. <category><![CDATA[Riley Gaines]]></category>
  42. <category><![CDATA[Sarah Huckabee Sanders]]></category>
  43. <category><![CDATA[Transgender]]></category>
  44. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2989649</guid>
  45.  
  46. <description><![CDATA[Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) said Thursday that Arkansas will not comply with new federal regulations that would ban discrimination of LGBT students under federal law.  The move comes as other Republican-lead states made similar defiant moves against the Biden administration. Sanders said Arkansas will continue to enforce bathroom restrictions, which could become invalid with [&#8230;]]]></description>
  47. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) said Thursday that <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/arkansas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Arkansas</a> will <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arkansas-title-ix-transgender-huckabee-sanders-bf44e0e7c6dc8f1e03149a790be3d2ef" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">not comply</a> with new federal regulations that would ban discrimination of LGBT students under federal law. </p>
  48.  
  49.  
  50.  
  51. <p>The move comes as other Republican-lead states made similar defiant moves against the Biden administration. Sanders said Arkansas will continue to enforce bathroom restrictions, which could become invalid with the Biden administration’s new order.</p>
  52.  
  53.  
  54.  
  55. <p>“My message to Joe Biden and the federal government is we will not comply,” Sanders said Thursday. Riley Gaines, an outspoken former student-athlete against transgender women in sports, was at the <a href="https://www.thv11.com/article/news/politics/gov-sarah-huckabee-sanders-title-ix-executive-order/91-1c8c747f-328b-4bcc-8d12-ed82d7bcb3c0" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">signing</a>.</p>
  56.  
  57.  
  58.  
  59. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  60. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f6a8.png" alt="🚨" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> BREAKING: Arkansas Gov. <a href="https://twitter.com/SarahHuckabee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SarahHuckabee</a> becomes the FIRST female governor to stand against Biden’s illegal <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TitleIX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TitleIX</a> rewrite &amp; issue a pro-woman executive order that defines crucial sex-based terms like &#39;female’ &amp; &#39;woman.’ Learn more <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/2935.png" alt="⤵" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/Riley_Gaines_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Riley_Gaines_</a> <a href="https://t.co/UKc2CGRJq2">https://t.co/UKc2CGRJq2</a> <a href="https://t.co/3ZaJ02GZqw">pic.twitter.com/3ZaJ02GZqw</a></p>&mdash; Independent Women&#39;s Voice (@IWV) <a href="https://twitter.com/IWV/status/1786139226930634999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  61. </div></figure>
  62.  
  63.  
  64.  
  65. <p>According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/title-ix-sexual-assault-transgender-sports-d0fc0ab7515de02b8e4403d0481dc1e7" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title=""><em>Associated Press</em></a>, the legislation was created to clarify Title IX, a landmark law originally passed in 1972 to address women’s rights and applied to schools and colleges receiving federal money. It is commonly applied to women in sports. </p>
  66.  
  67.  
  68.  
  69. <p>While the 1972 law does not address the issue, the new rule does clarify that Title IX does in fact forbid discrimination based on one’s sexual orientation or gender identity.</p>
  70.  
  71.  
  72.  
  73. <p>The new rule is “crystal clear that everyone can access schools that are safe, welcoming and that respect their rights,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona <a href="https://apnews.com/article/title-ix-sexual-assault-transgender-sports-d0fc0ab7515de02b8e4403d0481dc1e7" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">said</a>.</p>
  74.  
  75.  
  76.  
  77. <p>Sanders believes the Biden interpretation is unlawful, continuing to <a href="https://twitter.com/alexahenning/status/1786105445242778019?s=46" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">explain</a> her reasoning for the executive order.&nbsp;</p>
  78.  
  79.  
  80.  
  81. <p>“Last month, President Biden released a ‘reinterpretation’ of Title IX that comes in at an insane 459,000 words. … It’s a document that should scare every woman and man in America,” Sanders said. </p>
  82.  
  83.  
  84.  
  85. <p>“If President Biden threatens our state with loss of educational funding because we refuse to go along with his election-year pandering, Arkansas will take the federal government to court. That’s because this issue goes far beyond a single locker room or missed scholarship,” she continued. </p>
  86.  
  87.  
  88.  
  89. <p>Texas and Oklahoma have enacted similar legislation, telling schools not to comply with the new federal law. Lawsuits have also been filed in Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky Texas challenging the law.</p>
  90.  
  91.  
  92.  
  93. <p><a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title=""><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</strong></a></p>
  94.  
  95.  
  96.  
  97. <p>The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas opposed the governor’s order.</p>
  98.  
  99.  
  100.  
  101. <p>“This act is a stark defiance of laws to protect against discrimination and a clear, aggressive attack on the well-being and freedoms of LGBTQ people in our state,” Megan Bailey, spokeswoman for the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a statement.</p>
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  107. </item>
  108. <item>
  109. <title>Alabama court clears way for second execution via nitrogen gas</title>
  110. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/crime/2989625/alabama-court-clears-way-second-execution-via-nitrogen-gas/</link>
  112. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Annabella Rosciglione]]></dc:creator>
  113. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 02:27:11 +0000</pubDate>
  114. <category><![CDATA[Crime]]></category>
  115. <category><![CDATA[Alabama]]></category>
  116. <category><![CDATA[Death]]></category>
  117. <category><![CDATA[Death Penalty]]></category>
  118. <category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
  119. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2989625</guid>
  120.  
  121. <description><![CDATA[The Alabama Supreme Court authorized the state attorney general’s request for an execution date for inmate Alan Eugene Miller using nitrogen gas. The Alabama Supreme Court authorized the use of nitrogen gas on Miller, which will be the second time it is used for execution in the state. Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) has not yet [&#8230;]]]></description>
  122. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/alabama/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Alabama</a> Supreme Court <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-execution-nitrogen-death-penalty-64c48e9f1089ad9eb97e4d18069d3a2d" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">authorized</a> the state attorney general’s request for an <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/tag/death-penalty/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">execution</a> date for inmate Alan Eugene Miller using nitrogen gas.</p>
  123.  
  124.  
  125.  
  126. <p>The Alabama Supreme Court authorized the use of nitrogen gas on Miller, which will be the second time it is used for execution in the state. Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) has not yet set a date for Miller’s execution.</p>
  127.  
  128.  
  129.  
  130. <p>Miller <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-united-states-executions-88119552972412ff0a3aeb2062af643d" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">survived</a> a previous execution attempt in 2022. His attorney said Alabama subjected Miller “to precisely the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain that the Eighth Amendment was intended to prohibit.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
  131.  
  132.  
  133.  
  134. <p>Miller was convicted of killing three men in a workplace shooting in 1999 and has a federal lawsuit against the use of nitrogen gas as lethal injection due to the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.</p>
  135.  
  136.  
  137.  
  138. <p>“Rather than address these failures, the State of Alabama has attempted to maintain secrecy and avoid public scrutiny, in part by misrepresenting what happened in this botched execution,” the lawyers wrote. Miller’s attorneys are expected to ask a federal judge to block the execution.</p>
  139.  
  140.  
  141.  
  142. <p>The state first used nitrogen gas as a form of lethal injection in January on Kenneth Smith, who reportedly &#8220;thrashed violently on the gurney&#8221; and was seen breathing for several minutes before being pronounced dead.</p>
  143.  
  144.  
  145.  
  146. <p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been to four previous executions, and I&#8217;ve never seen a condemned inmate thrash in the way that Kenneth Smith reacted to the nitrogen gas,&#8221; Lee Hedgepeth, a member of the media present at the execution, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68085513" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">told</a> the BBC<em>. </em>&#8220;Kenny just began to gasp for air repeatedly, and the execution took about 25 minutes total.&#8221;</p>
  147.  
  148.  
  149.  
  150. <p><a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title=""><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</strong></a></p>
  151.  
  152.  
  153.  
  154. <p>Smith also survived another execution attempt in 2022, marking the state’s third failed execution attempt. During his original execution attempt, prison officials repeatedly failed to execute him as “state prosecutors attempted to lift a stay of execution issued by a federal appeals court.”</p>
  155.  
  156.  
  157.  
  158. <p>“As the night progressed, as Mr. Smith was subjected to ever-escalating levels of pain and torture, no one responded to his pleas to stop the pain, told him of the Eleventh Circuit’s stay, or answered his questions about what they were doing to him. They were — and he thought they were — executing him,” the <a href="https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/kenneth-smith-describes-alabamas-failed-attempt-to-execute-him" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">complaint</a> about the failed execution read.</p>
  159. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1623376","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1623376"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
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  164. </item>
  165. <item>
  166. <title>TikTok&#8217;s true intentions are belied by the hundreds of billions it&#8217;s leaving on the table</title>
  167. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-business/2986928/tiktoks-true-intentions-belied-by-hundreds-of-billions-on-table/</link>
  169. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tiana Lowe Doescher]]></dc:creator>
  170. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
  171. <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
  172. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  173. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Business]]></category>
  174. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  175. <category><![CDATA[Apps]]></category>
  176. <category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
  177. <category><![CDATA[Cybersecurity]]></category>
  178. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  179. <category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
  180. <category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
  181. <category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
  182. <category><![CDATA[TikTok]]></category>
  183. <category><![CDATA[Washington D.C.]]></category>
  184. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2986928</guid>
  185.  
  186. <description><![CDATA[Contrary to the claims of TikTok itself, a new law does not ban the social media behemoth outright from the country. That&#8217;s what lawmakers said was contained in the measure that President Joe Biden signed recently, along with military aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Rather, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act [&#8230;]]]></description>
  187. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Contrary to the claims of <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/tiktok/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">TikTok</a> itself, a new law does not ban the social media behemoth outright from the country. That&#8217;s what lawmakers said was contained in the measure that President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Joe Biden </a>signed recently, along with military aid for <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/israel" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Israel</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/ukraine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Ukraine</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/taiwan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Taiwan</a>.</p>
  188.  
  189.  
  190.  
  191. <p>Rather, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act <em>would</em> ban social media platforms in 270 days to 360 days. But only if they are controlled by a foreign adversary, as defined by either Title X of the United States Code — which specifically designates <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/north-korea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">North Korea</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/russia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Russia</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/iran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Iran</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">China </a>as &#8220;covered nations&#8221; — or by the president.</p>
  192.  
  193.  
  194.  
  195. <p>In other words, only if TikTok is owned and operated by ByteDance or any other company based in one of the four &#8220;covered nations&#8221; will the platform be banned. Practically speaking, ByteDance has nearly a year to sell TikTok to a buyer in literally any of the other 191 countries on Earth.</p>
  196.  
  197.  
  198.  
  199. <p>Except TikTok continues to insist that the PAFACA is a categorical ban.</p>
  200.  
  201.  
  202.  
  203. <p>&#8220;Make no mistake — this is a ban: a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,&#8221; said TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who promised to fight the PAFACA in court. &#8220;Politicians may say otherwise but don&#8217;t get confused. Many who sponsored the bill admit a TikTok ban is the ultimate goal.&#8221;</p>
  204.  
  205.  
  206.  
  207. <p>TikTok&#8217;s true intentions, of course, are belied by the astounding amount of money ByteDance is leaving on the table rather than comply with the PAFACA, sell the app to a new buyer, and make bank.</p>
  208.  
  209.  
  210.  
  211. <p>Recall that when Elon Musk purchased Twitter, taking the company private in exchange for $44 billion in cash, the social media platform had 229 million monthly active users. In the decade prior to Musk&#8217;s acquisition, Twitter reported net losses every year but two, in 2018 and 2019, and annual revenue of just $5 billion.</p>
  212.  
  213.  
  214.  
  215. <p>Compare those metrics to TikTok, which boasts 1.5 billion monthly active users, $16 billion in revenue last year, and an obvious pathway to profitability, with ByteDance reporting an overall net profit of $40 billion last year, up 60% from 2022.</p>
  216.  
  217.  
  218.  
  219. <p>Even if Twitter&#8217;s $44 billion price tag was significantly overvalued, it stands to reason that TikTok, which has more than six times as many users and more than three times the revenue, could ask for <em>hundreds</em> of billions, not merely tens of billions.</p>
  220.  
  221.  
  222.  
  223. <p>According to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>, ByteDance has estimated that TikTok comprises as much as half of the parent company&#8217;s total valuation, and back in December, ByteDance began to price share buybacks at $160 per share, or a total TikTok valuation of $268 billion.</p>
  224.  
  225.  
  226.  
  227. <p>&#8220;Other investors think ByteDance is worth less,&#8221; the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> reports. &#8220;In private equity markets where ByteDance shareholders sell their stakes, the prices were lower than $130 a share, according to data from Rainmaker Securities, a private-equity brokerage. That would value the Chinese tech giant at less than $215 billion.&#8221;</p>
  228.  
  229.  
  230.  
  231. <p>If TikTok is indeed worth half of ByteDance&#8217;s total value, that would conservatively value it at more than $100 billion. And even if ByteDance sold TikTok without its ultra-valuable algorithm, Kevin O&#8217;Leary is putting together a bid valuing the platform between $20 billion and $30 billion.</p>
  232.  
  233.  
  234.  
  235. <p>So with this much money waiting to be made, why wouldn&#8217;t ByteDance&#8217;s shareholders be chomping at the bit to sell?</p>
  236.  
  237.  
  238.  
  239. <p>ByteDance&#8217;s founder, Zhang Yiming, owns 20% of the company, with employees owning another quintile. The remaining 60% majority is owned by non-Chinese investors such as the Carlyle Group and Jeff Yass&#8217;s Susquehanna International Group, with Americans comprising three of the company&#8217;s five board members.</p>
  240.  
  241.  
  242.  
  243. <p>But ByteDance will not sell, passing up on a quarter-trillion dollar payday, because the Chinese Communist Party will not let it.</p>
  244.  
  245.  
  246.  
  247. <p>The CCP has overtly opposed the PAFACA and insinuated it would prevent TikTok&#8217;s algorithm from being sold on the grounds of Chinese export control rules. Despite the fact that American users contribute 25% of TikTok&#8217;s overall revenue, ByteDance has leaked that it would rather cease American operations entirely than sell TikTok. This is because although the company is technically privately owned under Chinese law, there&#8217;s no such thing as an actually private company under Chinese jurisdiction.</p>
  248.  
  249.  
  250.  
  251. <p>Like all Chinese companies, TikTok complies with the 2017 National Security Law that requires firms to &#8220;support, assist and cooperate with national intelligence efforts.&#8221; Although the company maintains that it doesn&#8217;t turn over private user data to the CCP, ByteDance publicly partners with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security. And even without permission from ByteDance, CCP cyber spies — among the best in the world — can easily access user data stored on Chinese soil.</p>
  252.  
  253.  
  254.  
  255. <p>Beyond its use as an espionage tool for the CCP, TikTok&#8217;s most pernicious purpose is proven in the fact that China doesn&#8217;t allow the app to operate in its own country. A fun house mirror version of TikTok, the app Douyin features a nearly identical user interface but none of the same content. While the TikTok algorithm cleverly oscillates between dumbed-down dances and intentional distortions of current events — <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2440948/the-sad-civilizational-suicidality-of-the-zoomers-who-got-to-hand-it-to-osama-bin-laden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">consider the emotionally incontinent Westerners who rediscovered Osama bin Laden&#8217;s &#8220;Letter to America&#8221; and regarded it with reverence rather than revulsion</a> — Douyin&#8217;s feed censors out and downgrades frivolity and instead promotes educational content.</p>
  256.  
  257.  
  258.  
  259. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  260.  
  261.  
  262.  
  263. <p>And whereas TikTok encourages young Americans to hate their country and stay online all day, Douyin limits young users ingesting a carefully curated stream of patriotic and pedagogic content to just 40 minutes per day.</p>
  264.  
  265.  
  266.  
  267. <p>TikTok&#8217;s value to the CCP is then twofold: it both allows the dictatorship to surveil its global enemies as well as brainwash our population into either stupidity or submission. To capitalists, TikTok&#8217;s value may be in the hundreds of billions, but to communists, that is priceless.</p>
  268. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1638581","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1638581"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
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  273. </item>
  274. <item>
  275. <title>The documentarians and the murderer</title>
  276. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-arts/2986774/documentarians-and-murderer/</link>
  278. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Tonguette]]></dc:creator>
  279. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:43:00 +0000</pubDate>
  280. <category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
  281. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  282. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Life & Arts]]></category>
  283. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  284. <category><![CDATA[Crime]]></category>
  285. <category><![CDATA[Crime History]]></category>
  286. <category><![CDATA[documentary]]></category>
  287. <category><![CDATA[HBO]]></category>
  288. <category><![CDATA[Hollywood]]></category>
  289. <category><![CDATA[TV]]></category>
  290. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2986774</guid>
  291.  
  292. <description><![CDATA[Because documentary films contend with real people and real events, it is to be expected that they shape the public’s understanding of those people and events. But it is a different matter altogether when those films start to have a tangible impact on the people or events they are purporting to document.&#160; What if Fahrenheit [&#8230;]]]></description>
  293. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Because <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/film/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">documentary films</a> contend with real people and real events, it is to be expected that they shape the public’s understanding of those people and events. But it is a different matter altogether when those <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/movie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">films </a>start to have a tangible impact on the people or events they are purporting to document.&nbsp;</p>
  294.  
  295.  
  296.  
  297. <p>What if <em>Fahrenheit 9/11 </em>had somehow brought about an end to the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/iraq-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Iraq War</a>? Or if <em>Grey Gardens</em> had led to Big Edie and Little Edie renovating their dilapidated estate? In such hypothetical cases, would the filmmakers be considered bystanders to the consequences of their films or, for good or ill, participants in those aftereffects?</p>
  298.  
  299.  
  300.  
  301. <p>Such are the questions and quandaries that must be pondered in watching Andrew Jarecki’s long-belated documentary miniseries <em>The Jinx: Part Two</em>. Like its predecessor, the new series revolves around <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/798422/robert-durst-found-guilty-of-first-degree-murder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Robert Durst</a>, the vastly wealthy and exceedingly eccentric heir of a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/new-york/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">New York</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/real-estate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">real estate</a> family. To have known the psychopathic, indeed homicidal Durst seems to have placed one at risk of losing one’s life: In 1982, Durst’s first wife, Kathie, disappeared, an incident in which he has long been considered culpable. In 2000, his friend Susan Berman was killed, a crime for which he was charged and convicted. And in 2001, a neighbor, Morris Black, was killed, a <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/crime/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">crime</a> to which he admitted but of which he was, unbelievably, acquitted. The six episodes in the new series air weekly through May 26 on HBO, which made the first four episodes available to the press.</p>
  302.  
  303.  
  304.  
  305. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1024" height="591" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-1024x591.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2989505" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-300x173.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-768x443.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-1536x887.jpg 1536w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-2048x1182.jpg 2048w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-150x87.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-696x402.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-1068x617.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-1920x1108.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Robert Durst in the documentary, &#8220;The Jinx.&#8221; (Courtesy of MAX)</figcaption></figure>
  306.  
  307.  
  308.  
  309. <p>The original <em>The Jinx</em> sketched this history in all of its grimness and oddness, except for one key element: At the time the first series began airing in February 2015, Durst had not been <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/1661477/robert-durst-charged-with-1982-murder-of-wife-kathie-durst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">charged</a> in the death of Berman, but the documentary proved so damning that it ultimately led its subject to justice. In the final episode, Durst, who had, of his own volition, agreed to be interviewed for the series, made the fatal error of grousing to himself, off camera but on microphone, something about having “killed them all, of course.” In March, armed with a latex facial mask, a map of Cuba, and, as ever, loads of cash, Durst was apparently planning to relocate permanently to the island nation when he was arrested by the authorities — who, it turns out, had already been in touch with the filmmakers for some time. The first episode of the new series offers the following title card: “In 2013, <em>The Jinx </em>filmmakers shared the evidence they had discovered with law enforcement. As a result, the LAPD renewed their investigation into the murder of Bob’s friend Susan Berman.” Oh.&nbsp;</p>
  310.  
  311.  
  312.  
  313. <p>In 2021, Durst was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for murdering Berman. Later that same year, he was charged with murdering his first wife, Kathie, but he died at 78 in January 2022.</p>
  314.  
  315.  
  316.  
  317. <p>Talk about Peak TV! This is the show that helped put a man behind bars. “I think he would be free today if he had just kept his trap shut,” <em>New York Times</em> reporter Charles Bagli said. The first series and its impact are peppered through this new series: There’s footage of a kind of “watch party” at which investigators, witnesses, and Kathie Durst’s family members gathered around to watch the infamous “killed them all” episode back in 2015. And at one point during Durst’s trial for killing Berman, hypotheses related to the case are traced to an earlier feature film Jarecki made about Robert and Kathie Durst, the fictionalized <em>All Good Things</em>. Even so, <em>The Jinx: Part Two </em>does not linger on the knotty ethical issue of the series’s own role in Durst’s downfall.&nbsp;</p>
  318.  
  319.  
  320.  
  321. <p>Instead, the show hurtles headlong into relitigating Durst’s alleged and actual crimes and documenting his long-deferred prosecution for one of them, the murder of Berman. Among the most compelling segments are numerous jailhouse phone calls and conversations between the chipper, persuasive, demanding Durst and his surprisingly wide network of rich and strange friends. Foremost among them is Durst’s second wife and chief keeper of secrets, Debrah, with whom he talks, at one point, about selling several of his properties to help make cash available for what is sure to be a costly defense. (You know you have entered a strange social sphere when real estate valuations in the Hamptons are discussed in a jail meeting room.) As heard on these jailhouse communiques, Durst’s weirdly catty commentary on the unfolding trial and its participants is undeniably entertaining.</p>
  322.  
  323.  
  324.  
  325. <p>Those newly interviewed include the judge in the case, several jurors, various attorneys, and, most intriguingly, many from Durst’s orbit, some of whom come across as bizarre as one might imagine. Among Durst’s oddest longtime bosom buddies is one Nick Chavin, a former foul-mouthed country singer who performed under the name “Chinga Chavin” and who later, with Durst’s support, entered the business world. He professes his love and loyalty to his friend but has enough of a conscience to cooperate with the authorities eventually. “What do you do when your best friend kills your other best friend?” Chavin asks plaintively, referring to Durst’s murder of Berman.&nbsp;</p>
  326.  
  327.  
  328.  
  329. <p>That even sometimes credible-seeming people manage to get caught up in aiding, abetting, or merely providing moral support to Durst is a testament to the way in which proximity to great wealth can wreak havoc on both common decency and common sense. In recounting the investigation, Jarecki is aided immensely by Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney John Lewin, an unusually affable but utterly committed cold-case prosecutor: He’s loquacious, tenacious, and tireless in pursuing what he has judged to be the truth.</p>
  330.  
  331.  
  332.  
  333. <p>In all of the measurable ways, both iterations of <em>The Jinx</em> represent true-crime television at its finest. The shows are slick and sleek, effortlessly sliding in relevant pieces of information, countless cliffhangers, and even a few open questions. Reenactments of certain events are tasteful and restrained. The casting call for the show must have sought those belonging to the unusual category of “actors who look like Robert Durst in soft focus.”&nbsp;</p>
  334.  
  335.  
  336.  
  337. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  338.  
  339.  
  340.  
  341. <p>Yet the blurring of the line between the filmmakers’ inquiries into the Durst saga and their involvement in its resolution hangs over the show. Of course, that line has been smudged many times, often under fairly tawdry circumstances: The infamous ITV special <em>Living with Michael Jackson</em> precipitated the criminal case against its subject, and the equally infamous unaired Fox special with O.J. Simpson, <em>If I Did It</em>, provided confirmation, for any remaining naysayers, of Simpson’s guilt in the murder of his ex-wife and her friend. Both projects were undertaken with the initially enthusiastic participation of their ostensible subjects — as was the original <em>The Jinx</em>. While far fancier in its presentation and sense of self-importance, <em>The Jinx</em> is somewhat depressingly cut from the same cloth. Is this documentary storytelling or entrapment, or (more likely) some bizarre hybrid of both only possible in a media environment in which notorious figures, such as Simpson and Durst, can’t help but speak to a curious public?&nbsp;</p>
  342.  
  343.  
  344.  
  345. <p>By raising these points, I do not mean to dampen interest in a compelling entry in the annals of American crime nor diminish the significance of a deranged killer being held to account. The fact remains that <em>The Jinx: Part Two </em>wraps up only part of the story. Another filmmaker, one who knew neither Durst nor his chroniclers, ought to take up the topic of what happens when documentary filmmaking and the legal system collide.&nbsp;</p>
  346.  
  347.  
  348.  
  349. <p><em>Peter Tonguette is a contributing writer to the </em>Washington Examiner <em>magazine.</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
  353. <media:content url="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.TV_-1024x591.jpg" medium="image" />
  354. </item>
  355. <item>
  356. <title>House GOP vote counter herds cats with little legislative cushion</title>
  357. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-washington-briefing/2985976/house-gop-vote-counter-herds-cats-with-little-legislative-cushion/</link>
  359. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Kate Oczypok]]></dc:creator>
  360. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
  361. <category><![CDATA[Foreign Policy]]></category>
  362. <category><![CDATA[House]]></category>
  363. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  364. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Washington Briefing]]></category>
  365. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  366. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  367. <category><![CDATA[Foreign Aid]]></category>
  368. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  369. <category><![CDATA[Pennsylvania]]></category>
  370. <category><![CDATA[War in Ukraine]]></category>
  371. <category><![CDATA[Washington D.C.]]></category>
  372. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2985976</guid>
  373.  
  374. <description><![CDATA[PITTSBURGH — House Republicans aren’t the most unified political family, to put it mildly. This has kept Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) plenty busy over the past 16 months as a chief vote counter. As chief deputy whip, Reschenthaler is effectively an understudy to the House majority whip, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN). Emmer chose Reschenthaler, 41, [&#8230;]]]></description>
  375. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>PITTSBURGH </strong>— House Republicans aren’t the most unified political family, to put it mildly. This has kept <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/2948976/house-republicans-renaming-dc-airport-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA)</a> plenty busy over the past 16 months as a chief vote counter.</p>
  376.  
  377.  
  378.  
  379. <p>As chief deputy whip, Reschenthaler is effectively an understudy to the House majority whip, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/tom-emmer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN)</a>. Emmer chose Reschenthaler, 41, for the role after Republicans captured a narrow House majority in the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/midterms-2022" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">2022 midterm elections</a>.</p>
  380.  
  381.  
  382.  
  383. <p>The pair are charged with managing the legislative plans of the House majority, which stands at 217 GOP members to 213 Democrats. That ultra-slim House Republican edge will grow a bit in the coming members with special elections in mostly red districts. But even then, the party won’t be able to lose more than three or four seats on a legislative priority bill, assuming little or no Democratic support.</p>
  384.  
  385.  
  386.  
  387. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="591" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-1024x591.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2989495" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-300x173.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-768x443.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-1536x887.jpg 1536w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-2048x1182.jpg 2048w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-150x87.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-696x402.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-1068x617.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-1920x1108.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Howie Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Oct. 24. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
  388.  
  389.  
  390.  
  391. <p>The House Republican whip team’s handiwork was on display most vividly in its successful effort to get a bill passed, since cleared by the Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden, for $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The measures, spread over four back-to-back House votes, included fresh rounds of funding for the three U.S. allies along with another bill meant to sweeten the deal for conservatives that could result in a nationwide ban on TikTok.</p>
  392.  
  393.  
  394.  
  395. <p>The Ukraine aid portion of the law opened a schism among House Republicans, with support from traditional foreign policy conservatives, including Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Michael Turner (R-OH), chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, respectively, while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) led opposition to Ukraine aid.</p>
  396.  
  397.  
  398.  
  399. <p><a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024151" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">In the end</a>, 101 House Republicans backed the Ukraine aid portion while 112 voted no. All 210 Democrats voting backed it.</p>
  400.  
  401.  
  402.  
  403. <p>Even GOP leadership was split. Reschenthaler supported the proposal, along with Emmer, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Blake Moore (R-UT), and Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), chairman of the House GOP campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee.</p>
  404.  
  405.  
  406.  
  407. <p>House GOP leaders voting no on Ukraine aid were Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY); Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), secretary of the House Republican Conference; and Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL), chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee.</p>
  408.  
  409.  
  410.  
  411. <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Republican rising star</strong></h2>
  412.  
  413.  
  414.  
  415. <p>Part of Reschenthaler’s job as chief deputy whip is setting up contrasts between House Republicans and the Biden administration. That means moving bills meant to crystalize differences over economic growth, immigration, the environment, and other matters, even if the proposals stand little chance of getting through the Senate, where Democrats have a 51-49 majority, let alone garnering Biden&#8217;s signature to become law.</p>
  416.  
  417.  
  418.  
  419. <p>“The American people elected a House Republican majority to put a check on President Biden and congressional Democrats’ failing agenda,” Reschenthaler said in an interview. “Our conference has members from every walk of life and corner of the country who each bring unique perspectives to the table.”</p>
  420.  
  421.  
  422.  
  423. <p>Under the leadership of Emmer, the GOP whip operation “maintains an open-door policy and consistent communication with members,” Reschenthaler said. The group is constantly facilitating discussions to find consensus, he added.</p>
  424.  
  425.  
  426.  
  427. <p>Reschenthaler represents the southern and eastern Pittsburgh exurbs, Pennsylvania&#8217;s 14<sup>th</sup> Congressional District. Voters there in 2020 backed former President Donald Trump over Biden, 63% to 36%, and Reschenthaler is a loyalist to the 2024 Republican nominee-in-waiting. The congressman <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/2948976/house-republicans-renaming-dc-airport-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">introduced a bill</a> earlier this year to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after the former president.</p>
  428.  
  429.  
  430.  
  431. <p>Reschenthaler now is working to unite the party before November’s general election, in which House control is up for grabs. The fight will no doubt be influenced by the presidential race, with Biden and Trump both needing to win Pennsylvania to capture an Electoral College majority.</p>
  432.  
  433.  
  434.  
  435. <p>House Republicans have a big advantage, with the world on fire in a series of foreign policy crises, and lingering inflation at home.</p>
  436.  
  437.  
  438.  
  439. <p>“Under President Biden’s failed leadership, Americans face crises at home and abroad,” Reschenthaler said. “We have record-high prices on gas and groceries, an invasion at our southern border, and foreign adversaries creating unrest across the globe.”</p>
  440.  
  441.  
  442.  
  443. <p>Reschenthaler said he feels that the November election is a critical moment for voters to “end the chaos and get our country back on track.”</p>
  444.  
  445.  
  446.  
  447. <p>House Republicans “must be laser-focused on our shared goal of countering the far-left’s radical agenda that is destroying the nation we know and love,” Reschenthaler added. “Too much is at stake for anything less.”</p>
  448.  
  449.  
  450.  
  451. <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Western Pennsylvania born and bred</strong></h2>
  452.  
  453.  
  454.  
  455. <p>A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University at Erie, The Behrend College, Reschenthaler went on to law school at Duquesne University and joined the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps. He served in Iraq, where he prosecuted al Qaeda terrorists.</p>
  456.  
  457.  
  458.  
  459. <p>Back home, he was a Pennsylvania magisterial district judge before winning a state Senate special election in 2015. Three years later, he captured a newly drawn, deep-red western Pennsylvania House seat, covering the southern part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and the southwest corner of Pennsylvania.</p>
  460.  
  461.  
  462.  
  463. <p>Reschenthaler said he has secured $61 million for southwestern Pennsylvania through the House appropriations process for fiscal 2023, which he called “a huge win for our district.”</p>
  464.  
  465.  
  466.  
  467. <p>The funding will support workforce development programs, library improvements, law enforcement and fire departments, locks and dam construction, sewer and waterline infrastructure, and economic development.<br>&nbsp;<br>“My position in House Republican leadership also puts a local Pennsylvanian at the&nbsp;leadership&nbsp;table who knows our shared values and interests, which creates a unique and important opportunity for our commonwealth,” said Reschenthaler, who is a member of the House Appropriations and Rules committees.</p>
  468.  
  469.  
  470.  
  471. <p>However, not everyone is so impressed. Reschenthaler faces a November challenge from Democrat <a href="https://www.dziadosforcongress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Chris Dziados</a>, an Iraq combat veteran, retired Army major, and former Pentagon policy analyst. Dziados said in an interview that he decided to run for office primarily because of the events of Jan. 6, 2021. He was stationed at the Pentagon that day, and after being directed to go home for curfew, he witnessed the dispersion of the mob that participated in the attack on the Capitol.</p>
  472.  
  473.  
  474.  
  475. <p>“Later that night, my congressman refused to certify the election for President Biden, setting a foundation that continues to undermine people’s faith in our democracy,” Dziados said. “I did not spend the last 20 years of my life protecting and defending our country to watch politicians undermine Americans’ faith in our democracy for political gain.”</p>
  476.  
  477.  
  478.  
  479. <p>Still, the district’s strong Republican lean makes Reschenthaler the strong favorite for November. He brushed off his Democratic opponent’s criticism.</p>
  480.  
  481.  
  482.  
  483. <p>“There’s a saying I often go back to: ‘Dogs don’t bark at parked cars,’” the congressman said. “If far-left radicals are outraged, it means I’m doing something right.”</p>
  484.  
  485.  
  486.  
  487. <p>More leadership opportunities could arise for Reschenthaler. Relatively recent Republican chief House deputy whips have gone on to bigger things politically, including two who rose to House speaker and former Sen. Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican who spent 12 years on the other side of the Capitol in statewide elected office after his House leadership years.</p>
  488.  
  489.  
  490.  
  491. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  492.  
  493.  
  494.  
  495. <p>First, though, Reschenthaler has seven more months of this Congress to push through House priorities — not an easy task with a perilously slim majority, and lawmakers of the same party who sometimes act like they’re from warring tribes.</p>
  496.  
  497.  
  498.  
  499. <p>“As a member of the House Appropriations and House Rules committees, and in my capacity as the Chief Deputy Whip for the 118th Congress, I have the ability to promote commonsense policies and deliver significant results for Americans across the country — particularly southwestern Pennsylvanians,” Reschenthaler said.</p>
  500.  
  501.  
  502.  
  503. <p><em>Kate Oczypok is a writer in Pittsburgh.</em></p>
  504. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1635991","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1635991"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
  508. <media:content url="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WB.Congress-1024x591.jpg" medium="image" />
  509. </item>
  510. <item>
  511. <title>Is abortion the key to winning Arizona for Biden-Harris ticket?</title>
  512. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/2984438/is-abortion-key-winning-arizona-biden-harris-ticket/</link>
  514. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Haisten Willis]]></dc:creator>
  515. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:33:00 +0000</pubDate>
  516. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  517. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Washington Briefing]]></category>
  518. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  519. <category><![CDATA[Premium]]></category>
  520. <category><![CDATA[White House]]></category>
  521. <category><![CDATA[2024 Elections]]></category>
  522. <category><![CDATA[Abortion]]></category>
  523. <category><![CDATA[Arizona]]></category>
  524. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  525. <category><![CDATA[Kamala Harris]]></category>
  526. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2984438</guid>
  527.  
  528. <description><![CDATA[One hour after news began circulating that an abortion law written in 1864 would take effect in Arizona, Vice President Kamala Harris announced she was traveling to the state to make a speech. She had visited Phoenix just one month prior to talk about the threat of abortion bans, and Harris went to the Grand [&#8230;]]]></description>
  529. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One hour after news began circulating that an <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="abortion">abortion</a> law written in 1864 would take effect in <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/arizona" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Arizona">Arizona</a>, Vice President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/kamala-harris/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="abortion">Kamala Harris</a> announced she was traveling to the state to make a speech.</p>
  530.  
  531.  
  532.  
  533. <p>She had visited Phoenix just one month prior to talk about the threat of abortion bans, and Harris went to the Grand Canyon State again three days after the ruling. This time in Tucson, for an appearance focused on the same topic.</p>
  534.  
  535.  
  536.  
  537. <p>&#8220;This fight is about freedom,&#8221; Harris <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/2964855/harris-casts-blame-for-arizona-abortion-ban-trump-did-this/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="said">said</a>. &#8220;And the freedom that is fundamental to the promise of America. &#8230; That includes the freedom to make decisions about one&#8217;s own body and not have the government telling people what to do.&#8221;</p>
  538.  
  539.  
  540.  
  541. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="727" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-1024x727.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2973686" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-1024x727.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-300x213.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-768x545.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-1536x1090.jpg 1536w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-2048x1454.jpg 2048w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-150x106.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-696x494.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-1068x758.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-1920x1363.jpg 1920w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24103830025276-100x70.jpg 100w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about abortion during a Biden/Harris campaign event at El Rio Neighborhood Center in Tucson, Ariz., Friday, April 12, 2024. (Grace Trejo/Arizona Daily Star via AP)</figcaption></figure>
  542.  
  543.  
  544.  
  545. <p>&#8220;Former President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a> did this,&#8221; she added.</p>
  546.  
  547.  
  548.  
  549. <p>Trump has worked to distance himself from the ruling, calling for the law to be overturned in a typically caps-filled social media post. </p>
  550.  
  551.  
  552.  
  553. <p>&#8220;The Governor and the Arizona Legislature must use HEART, COMMON SENSE, and ACT IMMEDIATELY, to remedy what has happened,&#8221; he&nbsp;<a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112259523897710004" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;on Truth Social. &#8220;Remember, it is now up to the States and the Good Will of those that represent THE PEOPLE.&#8221;</p>
  554.  
  555.  
  556.  
  557. <p>But Harris&#8217;s aggressive messaging, as well as Trump&#8217;s middle-of-the-road approach,&nbsp;has Democrats hoping they can win Arizona in the fall.</p>
  558.  
  559.  
  560.  
  561. <p>Trump holds a healthy 5-point lead in the state, <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/arizona/trump-vs-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="per">per</a> the <em>RealClearPolitics</em> polling average, and the Cook Partisan Voting Index still rates it as an R+2 state.</p>
  562.  
  563.  
  564.  
  565. <p>But Arizona, like other Sun Belt states such as Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina, has shifted in the throes of Trump&#8217;s GOP takeover.</p>
  566.  
  567.  
  568.  
  569. <p>It was once solidly red, voting for every Republican presidential candidate between 1952 and 2016 except President Bill Clinton&#8217;s narrow 1996 win. Arizona even produced two GOP presidential nominees in the form of Sens. Barry Goldwater (1964) and John McCain (2008).</p>
  570.  
  571.  
  572.  
  573. <p>But things have been different since the MAGA movement got in full swing. Kyrsten Sinema won an Arizona Senate seat as a Democrat in 2018. President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Joe Biden">Joe Biden</a> won the state two years later in the same election that saw Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) take McCain&#8217;s old Senate seat. In 2022, Democrats took the governor&#8217;s office with Katie Hobbs&#8217;s (D-AZ) defeat of MAGA firebrand <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/kari-lake" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Kari Lake">Kari Lake</a>.</p>
  574.  
  575.  
  576.  
  577. <p>Now, both Trump and Lake, who is running for Senate, are hoping to avenge losses with a messaging game focused on inflation, immigration, and the high cost of housing. Democrats think the matter of abortion can sink both of them.</p>
  578.  
  579.  
  580.  
  581. <p>Harris was joined aboard Air Force Two for her Tucson trip by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who promised that abortion would be a big part of his Senate campaign.</p>
  582.  
  583.  
  584.  
  585. <p>&#8220;Trump did this,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/2964855/harris-casts-blame-for-arizona-abortion-ban-trump-did-this/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="told">told</a> reporters on the plane. &#8220;We wouldn&#8217;t be having this issue at all if he didn&#8217;t appoint those three judges that ended up overturning&nbsp;<em>Roe v. Wade</em>. And you have Kari Lake, who was a cheerleader for this territorial law.&#8221;</p>
  586.  
  587.  
  588.  
  589. <p>The territorial law bans all abortions with exceptions in cases in which the mother faces immediate life-threatening conditions. And it mandates a prison sentence of between two and five years for a healthcare provider performing the procedure unlawfully.</p>
  590.  
  591.  
  592.  
  593. <p>Not only can the matter motivate abortion-rights voters on its own, but a ballot initiative that would specifically enshrine abortion rights in the Arizona Constitution could supercharge turnout from people who rate the matter highly.</p>
  594.  
  595.  
  596.  
  597. <p>Democratic strategist Brad Bannon sees it as a winning scenario for his party. </p>
  598.  
  599.  
  600.  
  601. <p>&#8220;My reading of the polls is that this race is between men and women,&#8221; Bannon said. &#8220;Women overwhelmingly support Biden, while men overwhelmingly support Trump. I think this will be a big part of the Biden strategy to maximize turnout among women.&#8221;</p>
  602.  
  603.  
  604.  
  605. <p>Biden has made that case himself.</p>
  606.  
  607.  
  608.  
  609. <p>&#8220;Trump and the MAGA crowd don&#8217;t have a clue about the power of women in America,&#8221; Biden said during a campaign speech on April 8. &#8220;But they&#8217;re about to find out.&#8221;</p>
  610.  
  611.  
  612.  
  613. <p>An April 24 Biden campaign speech in Florida included the word &#8220;women&#8221; 26 separate times.</p>
  614.  
  615.  
  616.  
  617. <p>Trump also isn&#8217;t doing himself any favors by trying to stand in the middle on the matter, longtime Arizona Republican consultant Chuck Coughlin argued.</p>
  618.  
  619.  
  620.  
  621. <p>&#8220;There are single-issue voters within the conservative right-to-life movement who will skip him now,&#8221; Coughlin said. &#8220;I think that&#8217;s a problem for him.&#8221;</p>
  622.  
  623.  
  624.  
  625. <p>The middle ground, he added, will lead to Trump getting hit by traffic from both directions. </p>
  626.  
  627.  
  628.  
  629. <p>Still, the makeup of the Arizona electorate seems to favor a generic Republican candidate. Six of its nine House members are Republicans, and Trump has won it before, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by nearly 100,000 votes in 2016.</p>
  630.  
  631.  
  632.  
  633. <p>John Gillette, a Republican state representative, said it&#8217;s the other topics that will push Trump over the top in 2024. Still-high inflation, illegal immigration, and the rising cost of housing and mortgages will outweigh abortion in the minds of most voters, he argued.</p>
  634.  
  635.  
  636.  
  637. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the typical Left talking points,&#8221; Gillette said of Harris&#8217;s Tucson speech. &#8220;Abortion is the only item they have.&#8221;</p>
  638.  
  639.  
  640.  
  641. <p>Like Trump, Gillette argued that Democrats are the extremists when it comes to the matter, saying they support allowing abortion for any reason at any time within a pregnancy, a position he thinks is out of touch with where most voters are.</p>
  642.  
  643.  
  644.  
  645. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  646.  
  647.  
  648.  
  649. <p>But he acknowledged that turnout would be crucial to the results in Arizona, saying that whichever party gets their people to the polls will emerge victorious.</p>
  650.  
  651.  
  652.  
  653. <p>&#8220;What&#8217;s going to determine this election is turnout,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I know everybody is tired of hearing that, but turnout is what&#8217;s going to win.&#8221;</p>
  654. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1640609","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1640609"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
  658. <media:content url="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP20282856340417-1-1024x591.jpg" medium="image" />
  659. </item>
  660. <item>
  661. <title>Are noncompete agreements over? The Biden adminsitration&#8217;s Federal Trade Commission wants to make it so</title>
  662. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/2986607/are-noncompete-agreements-over-the-biden-adminsitrations-federal-trade-commission-wants-to-make-it-so/</link>
  664. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jeremy Lott]]></dc:creator>
  665. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
  666. <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
  667. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  668. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Business]]></category>
  669. <category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
  670. <category><![CDATA[Premium]]></category>
  671. <category><![CDATA[FTC]]></category>
  672. <category><![CDATA[Jeremy Lott]]></category>
  673. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  674. <category><![CDATA[Law]]></category>
  675. <category><![CDATA[Lina Khan]]></category>
  676. <category><![CDATA[Trade]]></category>
  677. <category><![CDATA[Washington D.C.]]></category>
  678. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2986607</guid>
  679.  
  680. <description><![CDATA[The U.S. Chamber of Commerce met the Federal Trade Commission’s late April announcement that it would ban all future employee noncompete agreements with a simple, uncompromising declaration: See you in court. “The Federal Trade Commission’s decision to ban employer noncompete agreements across the economy is not only unlawful but also a blatant power grab that [&#8230;]]]></description>
  681. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The U.S. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/chamber-of-commerce/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Chamber of Commerce </a>met the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/ftc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Federal Trade Commission</a>’s late April announcement that it would ban all future employee noncompete agreements with a simple, uncompromising declaration: <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/2977710/chamber-of-commerce-and-business-groups-sue-ftc-over-ban-on-noncompete-agreements/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">See you in court</a>.</p>
  682.  
  683.  
  684.  
  685. <p>“The Federal Trade Commission’s <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/business/2783802/bidens-proposed-ban-on-noncompete-agreements-ignores-the-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">decision to ban</a> employer noncompete agreements across the economy is not only unlawful but also a blatant power grab that will undermine American businesses’ ability to remain competitive,” charged Chamber President Suzanne P. Clark in a statement.</p>
  686.  
  687.  
  688.  
  689. <p>Clark promised that her organization would “sue the FTC to block this unnecessary and unlawful rule and put other agencies on notice that such overreach will not go unchecked.”</p>
  690.  
  691.  
  692.  
  693. <p>In a rare regulatory move, the final FTC rule against noncompetes went further than the original proposal. The agency explained that “existing noncompetes for the vast majority of workers will no longer be enforceable after the rule’s effective date,” about four months from now.</p>
  694.  
  695.  
  696.  
  697. <p>The agency allowed that existing C-suite noncompetes “can remain in force.” However, barring judicial intervention, once the rule takes effect, “employers are banned from entering into or attempting to enforce any new noncompetes, even if they involve senior executives.”</p>
  698.  
  699.  
  700.  
  701. <p>The courts will weigh in, but it’s possible that, by a vote of 3-2, the FTC has made noncompetes a thing of the past.</p>
  702.  
  703.  
  704.  
  705. <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The FTC’s Polarizing Rule</strong></h2>
  706.  
  707.  
  708.  
  709. <p>By and large, the Chamber and many industry trade groups opposed the decision, while progressive groups supported it stoutly. The American Economic Liberties Project issued a news release the day the rule dropped with supportive statements from an even dozen progressive policy organizations.</p>
  710.  
  711.  
  712.  
  713. <p>“Noncompetes have enabled employers to suppress worker power for far too long,”&nbsp;said Rachel Dempsey, an attorney at Towards Justice, but this “historic step” would change that.&nbsp;“FTC’s final rule removes a key mechanism of exploitation and corporate control over U.S. workers,”&nbsp;said Angela Huffman, president of Farm Action.</p>
  714.  
  715.  
  716.  
  717. <p>Yet there were a few hints during the loud interest group bandwagon circling that the issue is not necessarily so clear cut and that the FTC’s far-reaching decision has promoted polarization rather than deliberation.</p>
  718.  
  719.  
  720.  
  721. <p>In her statement promising a court challenge, the Chamber’s Clark said such agreements “are either upheld or dismissed under well-established state laws governing their use,” thus signaling some openness to further state-based changes in how noncompetes are handled.</p>
  722.  
  723.  
  724.  
  725. <p>And some progressive groups seemed a little unsure of what to do about the phaseout of C-suite noncompetes. Declarations like Dempsey’s that “these contracts keep workers trapped at jobs with low wages and poor working conditions” could ring a little hollow when applied to, say, most chief financial officers.</p>
  726.  
  727.  
  728.  
  729. <p>There is a debate about the role that noncompetes have played in the U.S. economy, but you wouldn’t know that from what President Joe Biden’s appointee, FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan, has to say on the subject.</p>
  730.  
  731.  
  732.  
  733. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP21111559685692.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2989433" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP21111559685692.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP21111559685692-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP21111559685692-768x512.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP21111559685692-150x100.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AP21111559685692-696x464.jpg 696w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan. (Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner)</figcaption></figure>
  734.  
  735.  
  736.  
  737. <p>“Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned,” Khan said when the rule was released. “The FTC’s final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market.”</p>
  738.  
  739.  
  740.  
  741. <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Good Are Noncompetes?</strong></h2>
  742.  
  743.  
  744.  
  745. <p>Khan’s words represent the maximal case against noncompetes, or something close to it. The FTC issued some other numbers undergirding her claim of 8,500 new businesses yearly, which would work out to a 2.7% boost in business formation. Workers are predicted to earn $524 more annually, and healthcare costs could fall by $194 billion over 10 years. The number of patents filed in that same period is also predicted to skyrocket.</p>
  746.  
  747.  
  748.  
  749. <p>Or the FTC could be wrong, and none of those things could come to pass. A famous 2020 <em>University of Chicago Law Review</em> article found that most of the studies used to argue against noncompetes “are badly flawed and, even so, common characterizations of their findings often dramatically overstate the policy conclusions that the data can reasonably support.”</p>
  750.  
  751.  
  752.  
  753. <p>Authors Jonathan Barnett and Ted Sichelman, law professors at the University of Southern California and the University of San Diego, respectively, admitted that in some states where noncompetes are vigorously enforced, such agreements could impede some of the very things the FTC is warning against with its rule. However, they insisted that’s not the whole economic story of noncompetes.</p>
  754.  
  755.  
  756.  
  757. <p>“While it is frequently asserted that noncompetes may impede knowledge spillovers that foster innovation, it is frequently overlooked that noncompetes may encourage firms to invest in cultivating intellectual and human capital,” they explained.</p>
  758.  
  759.  
  760.  
  761. <p>Companies need to find a way to ensure that some of their most closely guarded secrets do not leak to the competition. Noncompetes are one relatively simple way of doing that, by keeping people with privileged information from quitting and taking that information with them to a rival firm.</p>
  762.  
  763.  
  764.  
  765. <p>Remove noncompetes and companies will have to develop more complicated ways of keeping their secrets, including sharing them less widely and consequently training fewer people. In a world shorn of noncompetes, “talent may be freer but it could well be worse off,” Barnett and Ted Sichelman warned.</p>
  766.  
  767.  
  768.  
  769. <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Two Noncompete Regimes?</strong></h2>
  770.  
  771.  
  772.  
  773. <p>This “corporate secrets and training” picture does not square well with the one painted by progressive policy groups of the ills that noncompetes allegedly produce.</p>
  774.  
  775.  
  776.  
  777. <p>“Our research finds that more than one out of every four private-sector workers, including low-wage workers, are required to enter noncompete agreements as a condition of employment,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute.</p>
  778.  
  779.  
  780.  
  781. <p>“Many restaurant workers have been stuck at their job, earning as low as $2.13 per hour, because of the noncompete clause that they agreed to have in their contract,” charged Teofilo Reyes, chief of staff at the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United.</p>
  782.  
  783.  
  784.  
  785. <p>Stories of nurses not allowed to quit their jobs and go work for a rival healthcare firm are also ubiquitous.</p>
  786.  
  787.  
  788.  
  789. <p>It’s possible that there are two different but overlapping noncompete regimes in U.S. employment law that are currently classified under the same heading. The first noncompete regime is about keeping company secrets and processes in-house, and the second is about reducing employees’ bargaining power.</p>
  790.  
  791.  
  792.  
  793. <p>The FTC implicitly nods toward this understanding in its rule by invalidating the noncompetes of most workers but allowing existing C-suite noncompetes to stand, for now.</p>
  794.  
  795.  
  796.  
  797. <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Politics and Contractors and Interest Rates</strong></h2>
  798.  
  799.  
  800.  
  801. <p>The rule will lead to much legal wrangling and will make for political fodder in an election year. It could also have other knock-on effects for many things, including federal contracting and even the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions.</p>
  802.  
  803.  
  804.  
  805. <p>David Berteau, president of the Professional Services Council, predicted “some very unique and, I think, deleterious consequences” for federal contractors in an interview on the <em>Federal Drive</em> podcast.</p>
  806.  
  807.  
  808.  
  809. <p>“When a contractor bids on a government solicitation, frequently, one of the requirements is to name and put resumes in of the key personnel that are going to be performing that work if you win, especially in the services contract arena,” Berteau said.</p>
  810.  
  811.  
  812.  
  813. <p>There is often a long interval between when the bids are made and when the contracts are awarded, and noncompetes are the standard “way of keeping those key personnel relevant for their bid during the process that the government is going through,” he said. Take that away and it will be harder for contractors to hold the promised team together through the bid period. “The government itself will suffer from this,” Berteau predicted.</p>
  814.  
  815.  
  816.  
  817. <p>If the FTC rule change hikes wages for a broad enough swath of workers, it could also trigger the Fed, and not in a good way.</p>
  818.  
  819.  
  820.  
  821. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  822.  
  823.  
  824.  
  825. <p>The Fed has cited metrics such as rising housing prices to justify higher interest rates and keep those rates up. In a late March press conference, Fed Chairman Jay Powell showed some concern over workers’ raises as well. Wage growth at the time was “gradually coming down to levels that are more sustainable over time, and that’s what we want,” he said.</p>
  826.  
  827.  
  828.  
  829. <p>When the Fed gets what it wants for long enough, people tend to get nice things like lower interest rates and cheaper home mortgages. Failing that, perhaps wage growth can lead to a boom in the avocado toast industry.</p>
  830. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1355190","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1355190"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
  834. <media:content url="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Biz.Cover_-1024x591.jpg" medium="image" />
  835. </item>
  836. <item>
  837. <title>Mooney gets boost from Ted Cruz and plots upset in West Virginia Senate race: &#8216;People are in denial&#8217;</title>
  838. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/congressional/2989556/mooney-boost-ted-cruz-plots-upset-west-virginia-senate-race/</link>
  840. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Samantha-Jo Roth]]></dc:creator>
  841. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:29:41 +0000</pubDate>
  842. <category><![CDATA[Congressional]]></category>
  843. <category><![CDATA[2024 Elections]]></category>
  844. <category><![CDATA[Campaign]]></category>
  845. <category><![CDATA[Jim Justice]]></category>
  846. <category><![CDATA[Joe Manchin]]></category>
  847. <category><![CDATA[Senate]]></category>
  848. <category><![CDATA[Washington D.C.]]></category>
  849. <category><![CDATA[West Virginia]]></category>
  850. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2989556</guid>
  851.  
  852. <description><![CDATA[KEARNEYSVILLE, West Virginia — With less than two weeks until the West Virginia Senate primary, Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) is downplaying recent polling showing his opponent, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV), leads consistently by double digits, saying they don’t reflect the reality in the state. “A lot of people are in denial here. A lot of [&#8230;]]]></description>
  853. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>KEARNEYSVILLE, West Virginia —</strong> With less than two weeks until the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/west-virginia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="West Virginia">West Virginia</a> Senate primary, <a href="https://www.mooneyforwv.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV)">Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV)</a> is downplaying recent polling showing his opponent, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/jim-justice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Gov. Jim Justice">Gov. Jim Justice</a> (R-WV), leads consistently by double digits, saying they don’t reflect the reality in the state.</p>
  854.  
  855.  
  856.  
  857. <p>“A lot of people are in denial here. A lot of people just think the establishment is going to win, but this primary is actually about who is a true conservative,” Mooney said in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner </em>ahead of a campaign stop on Thursday.&nbsp;</p>
  858.  
  859.  
  860.  
  861. <p>The five-term congressman is facing an uphill battle against the state’s popular two-term governor, who was recruited and endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Former President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2573438/trump-endorses-manchin-foe-jim-justice-in-vital-senate-race/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">endorsed </a>Justice in the Senate race to replace outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). </p>
  862.  
  863.  
  864.  
  865. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-1024x576.jpg" alt="Ted Cruz and Alex Mooney" class="wp-image-2989614" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-150x84.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-696x392.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-180x100.jpg 180w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke to the Washington Examiner about endorsing Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) for Senate at a campaign event in West Virginia on Wednesday, May 2, 2024. (Amy DeLaura / Washington Examiner)</figcaption></figure>
  866.  
  867.  
  868.  
  869. <p>The race will ultimately be a test of the NRSC’s new strategy of picking sides in primaries. The conservative <a href="https://www.clubforgrowth.org/candidates/alex-mooney/">Club for Growth</a> is going head to head with the Senate Republicans&#8217; campaign arm, taking on candidates it believes are not conservative enough on fiscal issues and backing Mooney in the race.</p>
  870.  
  871.  
  872.  
  873. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  874. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tedcruz</a> is here in West Virginia, campaigning for Rep. Alex Mooney <a href="https://t.co/IzbkCvuFTr">pic.twitter.com/IzbkCvuFTr</a></p>&mdash; Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamanthaJoRoth/status/1786166824138137747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  875. </div></figure>
  876.  
  877.  
  878.  
  879. <p>Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who endorsed Mooney’s bid about a year ago, was a featured speaker at the rally. He said the outlook of the race has now changed significantly after Manchin <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2455649/manchin-wont-seek-senate-reelection-as-he-promises-to-fight-to-unite-the-middle/">announced</a> he would not be running for reelection last November.</p>
  880.  
  881.  
  882.  
  883. <p>“A year ago when everyone thought Joe Manchin was going to run, the main argument that was used within the Senate was we need a candidate that can beat Manchin,&#8221; Cruz said in response to a question from the <em>Washington Examiner. </em>“It’s a very different race now. At this point, it is almost indisputable that the next senator from West Virginia is going to be a Republican.”</p>
  884.  
  885.  
  886.  
  887. <p>“A state that is as red as West Virginia deserves a strong conservative fighter in the Senate, and that’s exactly who Alex Mooney is,” Cruz added.</p>
  888.  
  889.  
  890.  
  891. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="732" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-1024x732.jpg" alt="Ted Cruz speaking at Alex Mooney event" class="wp-image-2989604" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-1024x732.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-300x214.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-768x549.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-150x107.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-696x497.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-1068x763.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701-100x70.jpg 100w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00017-scaled-e1714697810701.jpg 1194w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at an event endorsing Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) for West Virginia Senate on Wednesday, May 2, 2024. (Amy DeLaura / Washington Examiner)</figcaption></figure>
  892.  
  893.  
  894.  
  895. <p>Justice leads 66% to Mooney’s 24%, according to a recent <a href="https://wvmetronews.com/2024/04/12/justice-maintains-big-lead-over-mooney-in-republican-primary-for-u-s-senate-poll-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">MetroNews West Virginia Poll</a>. In an average of polling, Justice has <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/2024/west-virginia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">consistently</a> led Mooney by over 30 points throughout the cycle.</p>
  896.  
  897.  
  898.  
  899. <p>However, the fundraising numbers between the two candidates are a bit closer. Justice raised $404,948 during the first quarter and more than $2.4 million this election cycle, according to <a href="https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00839100/1777686/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">campaign finance records</a>, leaving him with $1.1 million in cash on hand. Mooney raised $315,978 during the quarter and almost $2.1 million during the cycle and has about $1.3 million in cash on hand.</p>
  900.  
  901.  
  902.  
  903. <p>Mooney continues to slam Justice’s political past as a Democrat. The West Virginia governor has been a Republican since August 2017, when he announced the change after being elected as a Democrat.</p>
  904.  
  905.  
  906.  
  907. <p>“When the voters see a conservative option here, they leave Jim Justice very fast. They are really looking for options,” Mooney said.</p>
  908.  
  909.  
  910.  
  911. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="684" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-1024x684.jpg" alt="People wearing &quot;Mooney U.S. Senate shirt&quot;" class="wp-image-2989609" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-768x513.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-2048x1368.jpg 2048w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-150x100.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-696x465.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-1068x713.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DSC00009-1920x1282.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Voters attending an event for Senate candidate Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) saying the Pledge of Allegiance during a campaign event in West Virginia on Wednesday, May 2, 2024 (Amy DeLaura / Washington Examiner)</figcaption></figure>
  912.  
  913.  
  914.  
  915. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  916.  
  917.  
  918.  
  919. <p>The West Virginia congressman, who has been crisscrossing the state for 18 months, said he’s going to focus more on the southern part of the state in the remaining days ahead of the May 14 primary.</p>
  920.  
  921.  
  922.  
  923. <p>“I’m going to focus more on the southern counties, where I have not been their congressman,” Mooney said. “I have represented two-thirds of the state in the U.S. House of Representatives, but the southern part, I have not.”</p>
  924. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1642053","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1642053"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
  928. <media:content url="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ted-Cruz-Mooney-1024x576.jpg" medium="image" />
  929. </item>
  930. <item>
  931. <title>A new Koch? RFK Jr’s running mate is a key campaign funder</title>
  932. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/2981334/new-koch-rfk-jrs-running-mate-key-campaign-funder/</link>
  934. <dc:creator><![CDATA[David Mark]]></dc:creator>
  935. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
  936. <category><![CDATA[Campaigns]]></category>
  937. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  938. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Washington Briefing]]></category>
  939. <category><![CDATA[Premium]]></category>
  940. <category><![CDATA[2024 Elections]]></category>
  941. <category><![CDATA[Campaign Finance]]></category>
  942. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  943. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  944. <category><![CDATA[Nicole Shanahan]]></category>
  945. <category><![CDATA[RFK Jr.]]></category>
  946. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2981334</guid>
  947.  
  948. <description><![CDATA[LOS ANGELES, California — California is often referred to as an ATM of politics for the frequency with which candidates of both parties jet in to scoop up campaign cash from well-heeled donors. In the case of Nicole Shanahan, the running mate to independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the candidate is also effectively [&#8230;]]]></description>
  949. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>LOS ANGELES, California —</strong> <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/california/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">California</a> is often referred to as an ATM of politics for the frequency with which candidates of both parties jet in to scoop up campaign cash from well-heeled donors. In the case of <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/2938556/rfk-jr-selects-nicole-shanahan-as-vice-presidential-pick/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Nicole Shanahan</a>, the running mate to independent presidential hopeful <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/rfk-jr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Robert F. Kennedy Jr.</a>, the candidate is also effectively the bank.</p>
  950.  
  951.  
  952.  
  953. <p>Kennedy turned to Shanahan to fund his bid against President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/joe-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Joe Biden</a> and the Republican nominee-in-waiting, former President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/donald-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Donald Trump</a>. Shanahan, 38, is a Bay Area attorney and entrepreneur who has never held public office. But more to the point, she’s the former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and her divorce settlement made her fabulously wealthy. &nbsp;</p>
  954.  
  955.  
  956.  
  957. <p>Kennedy, son and namesake of the late attorney general and New York Democratic Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, tapped Shanahan for an independent White House ticket already heavy on vaccine skepticism and conspiracy theories. Kennedy has long promoted the scientifically disproven claim of a causal link between vaccines and autism. Shanahan appears to have a similar mindset. She “has for years denounced in vitro fertilization, calling it ‘one of the biggest lies that’s being told about women’s health today,’” <em>Politico</em> reported.</p>
  958.  
  959.  
  960.  
  961. <p>As for Shanahan’s ability to help fund Kennedy’s independent campaign, specific numbers won’t be available until after the second fundraising quarter, which ends on June 30 at midnight. However, Shanahan, before joining the Kennedy ticket on March 26, donated the maximum individual amount to his campaign and $4 million to the chief super PAC backing his bid to air a retro-themed Super Bowl commercial. In addition to backing American Values 2024, she gave $500,000 to another super PAC backing Kennedy, Common Sense PAC.</p>
  962.  
  963.  
  964.  
  965. <p>It’s an open question what kind of effect a well-funded Kennedy-Shanahan ticket would have on the looming rematch between Biden and Trump. For a while, it seemed to be taking crucial votes away from the Democratic president, at least as indicated by comparing Biden/Kennedy/Trump three-way polls to five-way polls, including hard-left candidates Cornel West and Jill Stein.</p>
  966.  
  967.  
  968.  
  969. <p>Two recent major national polls show Biden running better in a five-way than a two-way race. Biden moves from 2 points down to 2 points up nationally when the non-major-party candidates are included, according to NBC News. In the latest Marist poll, Biden leads Trump by 3 points head-to-head and by 5 points in a five-way race.</p>
  970.  
  971.  
  972.  
  973. <p>Since West and Stein are pulling 5% in the former poll and 4% in the latter (presumably taking very few votes from Trump), it’s reasonable to assume Kennedy is beginning to cut into the MAGA vote to an extent that grabs Trump’s attention. And that has started to happen.</p>
  974.  
  975.  
  976.  
  977. <p>“‘Junior’ is totally Anti-Gun, an Extreme Environmentalist who makes the Green New Scammers look conservative, a Big Time Taxer and Open Border Advocate, and Anti-Military/Vet,” Trump said in an April 26 Truth Social post.</p>
  978.  
  979.  
  980.  
  981. <p>Nonetheless, Democrats are deeply concerned about Kennedy, particularly as he and Shanahan gain ballot access in key states. The Democratic National Committee hired a prominent, sharp-elbowed party operative, Lis Smith, to blunt the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket’s progress.</p>
  982.  
  983.  
  984.  
  985. <p>“There is nothing subtle about what the GOP and their media apparatus is doing with @RobertKennedyJr — they are propping him up to play spoiler for Trump,” Smith <a href="https://twitter.com/Lis_Smith/status/1776296537082961987" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">posted on X</a> on April 5.</p>
  986.  
  987.  
  988.  
  989. <p>Prominent Democratic elected officials also regularly denounce Kennedy and, by extension, Shanahan, who has made almost no campaign appearances since being tapped for the ticket. “When people go to the ballot box, they’re going to see that there are really only two choices. Because it’s throwing away your vote if you’re a Democrat and you vote for someone else on the ballot other than Joe Biden,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) said on CNN on April 21.</p>
  990.  
  991.  
  992.  
  993. <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Rich running mate, nothing new</h2>
  994.  
  995.  
  996.  
  997. <p>There’s a certain irony about Kennedy turning to a wealthy running mate to prop up his campaign. He’s a grandson of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., the Wall Street whiz-turned-isolationist U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, who bankrolled his sons’ political careers.</p>
  998.  
  999.  
  1000.  
  1001. <p>In 1958, John F. Kennedy, the Massachusetts senator who would become America’s 35th president, joked about his 1960 White House ambitions at the&nbsp;Gridiron Club in Washington, D.C.</p>
  1002.  
  1003.  
  1004.  
  1005. <p>“I have just received the following wire from my generous daddy: ‘Dear Jack — don’t buy a single vote more than necessary — I’ll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide,’” he said.</p>
  1006.  
  1007.  
  1008.  
  1009. <p>The Kennedy family patriarch, who died in 1969, set up family trusts for each of his 30 grandchildren, worth several million dollars today. <em>Forbes</em> reported in 2023 that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, <em>Curb Your Enthusiasm</em> actress Cheryl Hines, are worth roughly $15 million. That’s based on an analysis of the couple’s earnings, properties, and debt as gleaned from Kennedy’s legally required financial disclosure that he filed in June of that year, when he was still in the Democratic fold, challenging Biden for the party’s presidential nomination.</p>
  1010.  
  1011.  
  1012.  
  1013. <p>Shanahan isn’t the first vice presidential candidate put on a ticket to help fund its campaign. In 1980, David Koch, a second-generation member of the family that founded Koch Industries, was the Libertarian Party’s 1980 vice presidential nominee. As the understudy of presidential candidate Ed Clark, Koch, a political activist, philanthropist, and chemical engineer by training, contributed heavily to the ticket. Of the $3.5 million the campaign raised, $2.1 million came from Koch, <a href="https://reason.com/2014/05/19/david-koch-ran-for-vice-president-with-t/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title=""><em>Reason</em> reported</a> in 2014.</p>
  1014.  
  1015.  
  1016.  
  1017. <p>The money for television advertising and other promotions undoubtedly helped the Libertarian ticket win 1.06% of the popular vote. That was good for fourth place behind the presidential winner, Republican Ronald Reagan, his vanquished Democratic incumbent, President Jimmy Carter, and John Anderson, a liberal Republican congressman from Illinois running as an independent.</p>
  1018.  
  1019.  
  1020.  
  1021. <p>The Clark-Koch libertarian ticket performed particularly strongly in Alaska, winning 11.66%. That’s still the best Libertarian ticket single-state showing. In 2016, though, the Libertarian presidential nominee, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who held office as a Republican from 1995 to 2003, won 3.3% of the vote nationally. In New Mexico, Johnson won 9.3% of the home state vote, behind Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the 2016 victor, incoming President Donald Trump.</p>
  1022.  
  1023.  
  1024.  
  1025. <p>The 1980 Libertarian Party platform also had some lasting effects on politics and public policy. It presaged some societal changes decades later, such as broad, if not universal, support for gay rights. And, to a degree, curbing welfare programs. A 1996 federal law enacted by the Republican Congress and Democratic President Bill Clinton gave states wide latitude to cut welfare spending.</p>
  1026.  
  1027.  
  1028.  
  1029. <p>But most of its ideas from that campaign remain fanciful today, such as the proposed abolition of Social Security, the Federal Reserve Board, minimum wage laws, corporate taxes, all price supports, and subsidies for agriculture and business while doing away with federal law agencies such as the FBI, CIA, SEC, and several others.</p>
  1030.  
  1031.  
  1032.  
  1033. <p>Nor was Koch, who died in 2019, the first vice presidential nominee to fund a significant portion of the campaign he took part in. The gambit went back 76 years before that.</p>
  1034.  
  1035.  
  1036.  
  1037. <p>In 1904, West Virginia industrialist Henry Gassaway Davis was chosen by Democrats at their national convention in St. Louis as running mate to the party’s presidential nominee, Alton B. Parker, chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. Democrats made little secret as to why they picked the 81-year-old business tycoon — his wealth. And Davis was happy to play along.</p>
  1038.  
  1039.  
  1040.  
  1041. <p>A self-made businessman, Davis became a railroad executive before branching out into coal mining and banking as founder of the Potomac and Piedmont Coal and Railroad Company.&nbsp;He was a member of the House of Delegates during West Virginia’s early years of statehood and then a senator from 1871 to 1883.</p>
  1042.  
  1043.  
  1044.  
  1045. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong>&nbsp;</p>
  1046.  
  1047.  
  1048.  
  1049. <p>In the 1904 campaign, Davis, as the Democratic ticket mate of Parker, faced formidable odds against the Republican ticket of President Theodore Roosevelt and GOP vice presidential nominee Charles Fairbanks, a senator from Indiana. Roosevelt, as vice president, had inherited the presidency after the September 1901 assassination of President William McKinley. Running for a full term of his own, Roosevelt could boast of antitrust measures against big corporations at a time of great public suspicion about concentrated power, and federal land conservation efforts, among other achievements. &nbsp;</p>
  1050.  
  1051.  
  1052.  
  1053. <p>Davis donated about $185,000 (several million in 2024 dollars, depending on the currency calculation), which ended up being over a third of the total Democratic presidential campaign budget. But the largesse did little good. In November, the Parker-Davis ticket lost in a landslide to Roosevelt and Fairbanks, 336 to 140 in the Electoral College and 56% to 38% in the popular vote.</p>
  1054. <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting("has-featured-video","true")})}();</script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({"div":"Brid_1611967","obj":{"id":"27789","width":"1280","height":"720","stickyDirection":"below","video":"1611967"}});</script><script defer src="https://services.brid.tv/player/build/brid.min.js"></script>]]></content:encoded>
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  1059. </item>
  1060. <item>
  1061. <title>The tributaries of Lou Reed</title>
  1062. <link>https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/premium/2985513/the-tributaries-of-lou-reed/</link>
  1064. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Dominic Green]]></dc:creator>
  1065. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 01:15:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1066. <category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
  1067. <category><![CDATA[Magazine]]></category>
  1068. <category><![CDATA[Magazine - Life & Arts]]></category>
  1069. <category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
  1070. <category><![CDATA[Premium]]></category>
  1071. <category><![CDATA[Beatles]]></category>
  1072. <category><![CDATA[Culture]]></category>
  1073. <category><![CDATA[Music]]></category>
  1074. <category><![CDATA[rock n roll]]></category>
  1075. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2985513</guid>
  1076.  
  1077. <description><![CDATA[Once, all albums were collections of covers. Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley didn’t just record songs written by other people. They had hits with songs that other acts had already recorded. Then came the Beatles. Performers were now expected to write their own songs, and songs were meant to be authentic reflections of the performers, [&#8230;]]]></description>
  1078. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Once, all albums were collections of covers. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-arts/1479087/sinatras-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Frank Sinatra</a> and Elvis Presley didn’t just record songs written by other people. They had hits with songs that other acts had already recorded. Then came <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/beatles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">the Beatles</a>. Performers were now expected to write their own songs, and songs were meant to be authentic reflections of the performers, especially in <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/magazine-life-arts/173221/americas-greatest-rock-band/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">rock music</a>, where passion trumped technical competence. The cover song declined in value — not least to the performers, who could now earn some of the real money from composers’ royalties. Yet the all-cover album did not disappear.</p>
  1079.  
  1080.  
  1081.  
  1082. <p>In 1970, Booker T. &amp; the MGs released <em>McLemore Avenue</em>, an all-instrumental redo of the entire <em>Abbey Road</em> album, and George Benson released <em>The Other Side of Abbey Road</em>, with orchestra and vocals. In the summer of 1973, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/david-bowie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">David Bowie</a>, unable to write the new songs that his record company demanded, recorded <em>Pinups</em>, a collection of 1960s British rock tunes that he had enjoyed as a teenager. Two years later, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/898278/let-it-be-paul-mccartney-insists-john-lennon-was-the-one-who-broke-up-the-beatles/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">John Lennon</a>, busted for lifting “Come Together” from <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/chuck-berry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Chuck Berry</a>’s “You Can’t Catch Me,” made penance by recording a similar exercise in <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/1359978/musician-chuck-berry-dies-at-90/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">nostalgia</a>, <em>Rock ’n’ Roll</em>.</p>
  1083.  
  1084.  
  1085.  
  1086. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="591" src="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-1024x591.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2989424" srcset="https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-1024x591.jpg 1024w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-300x173.jpg 300w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-768x443.jpg 768w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-1536x887.jpg 1536w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-2048x1182.jpg 2048w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-150x87.jpg 150w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-696x402.jpg 696w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-1068x617.jpg 1068w, https://wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/LA.Culture-1920x1108.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&#8220;<em>The Power of the Heart</em>&#8220;<em> </em>is a classic tribute album. </figcaption></figure>
  1087.  
  1088.  
  1089.  
  1090. <p>The record business or the record buyers demanded new product, and the artists supplied the next best thing. The Bowie album is great: he finds something new, usually himself, in every track. The Lennon album is boring, a tribute act. The same goes for Siouxsie and the Banshees’ <em>Through the Looking Glass </em>(1987). Booker T. and George Benson gave the Beatles a musical upgrade. The Banshees dragged the Doors and Iggy Pop down to their inept level. Guns N’ Roses did the same in their cack-handed collection of punk covers, <em>The Spaghetti Incident? </em>(1993), recorded during their three-year struggle to compile the <em>Use Your Illusion </em>album.</p>
  1091.  
  1092.  
  1093.  
  1094. <p>By the 1990s, rock music was explicitly nostalgic, and the stars were beginning to die out. The cover album became the “tribute album,” in which a selection of well-known artists paid homage to another well-known artist by covering a track. Tribute albums have become a genre to themselves. Occasionally, they outdo the original, as Deana Carter’s “State Trooper” and The Band’s “Atlantic City” did on <em>Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska </em>(2000). Sometimes, they refresh old chestnuts, as Johnny Cash did with “In My Life” on 2002’s <em>American IV</em>, or find hidden virtues in new tunes, as Cash did with Nine Inch Nails’s “Hurt” and Ryan Adams did when he rerecorded Taylor Swift’s entire <em>1989</em> album in 2015. But usually, they struggle to escape the shadow of the giant they are trying to evoke.</p>
  1095.  
  1096.  
  1097.  
  1098. <p>Most rock songs depend on charisma: the presence of the performer, the feel of the original recording. This is especially true with artists who have a strong sonic signature. That didn’t stop Selfless Records (later Clearview Records) of Texas from commissioning various punk bands to rerecord the entire Ramones’ back catalog between 1993 and 2000. Compared to that exercise in futile fandom, <em>Is It Rolling Bob?: A Reggae Tribute to Bob Marley </em>(2004) is<em> </em>positively ingenious. According to the Wikipedia page for “Tribute Albums,” the all-time winner of the homage stakes is, appropriately enough, David Bowie (24 albums). The Eagles have only one album. Fleetwood Mac have two. Supply and demand.</p>
  1099.  
  1100.  
  1101.  
  1102. <p>Lou Reed now has two, too, following the release in April of <em>The Power of the Heart</em>. This is a classic tribute album. The object of veneration is dead. Many of the songs are obscure selections (many of the catchier ones appear on the 2021 collection <em>What Goes On</em>, which scraped together historic Reed covers by artists including Bryan Ferry and the Cowboy Junkies). And all of the artists must choose between faithfully impersonating the songwriter’s canonical recording, exploring the latent possibilities of the song, or imposing their own style upon it.</p>
  1103.  
  1104.  
  1105.  
  1106. <p>The imposers sound like impostors. Rufus Wainwright ruins “Perfect Day.” Going to the opposite extremes from Reed’s flat tenor effect, Wainwright mumbles the opening of each line as if he’s chewing a sandwich, then warbles the end of the line in a thin tremolo. Worse still, he rewrites the melody of the payoff line, “You’re going to reap just what you sow” — and not for the better. This is almost as atrocious as Rickie Lee Jones’s assault on “Walk On The Wild Side.” She replaces Reed’s signature string bass line with a drunken piano, and her vocal croaks like one of the witches from <em>Macbeth</em>. She even denies us the pleasure of the “Do, do, do, do-do” line. People have been jailed for less.</p>
  1107.  
  1108.  
  1109.  
  1110. <p>The Afghan Whigs start the MTV bopper “I Love You, Suzanne” in the style of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, and finish it, if anyone is still listening, with a guitar overload that the song is too frail to carry. The title track, which Reed wrote as a wedding gift to Laurie Anderson in 2008, is bungled by Brogan Bentley, who adds a half-beat hiccup at the start of each verse. Where Reed sounded passionately wizened, Bentley sounds merely self-absorbed.&nbsp;</p>
  1111.  
  1112.  
  1113.  
  1114. <p>The faithful impersonators are, as usual, hard to fault, but often hard to care about. Maxim Ludwig and Angel Olsen’s “I Can’t Stand It” confirms Reed’s influence on indie rock, not that confirmation is needed. Adding a footnote to a filler, Joan Jett does her glam-rock routine on Reed’s glam rocker “I’m So Free.” More interesting is Bobby Rush’s “Sally Can’t Dance,” which fulfills the funk potential of the original. The New Orleans singer Mary Gauthier does a beautiful job on “Coney Island Baby,” complete with replica guitar solo.</p>
  1115.  
  1116.  
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  1118. <p><strong><a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a></strong></p>
  1119.  
  1120.  
  1121.  
  1122. <p>And now for the explorers. Rosanne Cash (“Magician”) and Lucinda Williams (“Legendary Hearts”) effortlessly steer Reed tunes from garage rock to gritty Americana. Both Cash and Williams are careful in handling Reed’s rhythmic, half-spoken vocal style. Keith Richards, who also has a half-spoken vocal style, struggles a bit with “I’m Waiting For The Man,” though the band, who sound not unlike Reed’s mid-1980s groups, cruise amiably.</p>
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  1125.  
  1126. <p>The winner? Automatic’s guitar-less “New Sensations” is an all-electro glide. It’s far from Reed’s sound, but the distance throws him into relief: the smooth female vocal brings out the darkness of Reed’s underplayed original. It’s faithful without falling into impersonation, and explorative without trashing the material. It reminds me of the Fleetwood Mac cover album <em>Just Tell Me That You Want Me </em>(2012), where young bands like Best Coast and Tame Impala had fun with their parents’ record collection. And I don’t even like Fleetwood Mac.</p>
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  1130. <p><em>Dominic Green is a </em>Washington Examiner <em>columnist and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Find him on Twitter @drdominicgreen.&nbsp;</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
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