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Tag: Standing

  • Trump’s standing among Hill conservatives dims ahead of ’24

    Trump’s standing among Hill conservatives dims ahead of ’24

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    2022 1116 lankford 3200 2

    “They’re conservative,” Lankford added of his constituents, “but they’re dealing with personality there as well and are trying to figure out: Where do we go as a nation?”

    Lankford is staying neutral in his state, where Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) bested Trump in the 2016 primary. And he’s got plenty of company. Even as the GOP’s right flank earns sway equal to the tea party era, most conservatives aren’t inserting themselves into the brewing clash between Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an all-but-certain presidential contender bred by the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus.

    Interviews with more than 40 congressional Republicans — including 32 Freedom Caucus members — show a surprising number of Trump’s once-ardent supporters going quiet about whether they back him, despite new polling that shows him widening his primary lead. The small share of conservatives willing to endorse Trump right now suggests that the former president’s power base in the Hill GOP is at a nadir, even as DeSantis and other rivals have yet to ramp up their outreach.

    And some congressional conservatives are getting unexpected reactions to their alternative picks.

    Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), for instance, was one of the 20 doubters who initially blocked Kevin McCarthy from ascending to the speakership even as Trump supported the California Republican through 15 arduous ballots.

    Then Norman surprised colleagues last month by backing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over Trump. And he, too, was in for a surprise when he informed Trump of his decision.

    The former president, who is well known for grudge-holding, “was nice” about Norman’s decision, he recalled in an interview. “‘Do what you have to do. You got a great family.’ And that’s what he said,’’ Norman recounted. He hasn’t heard from Trump since.

    Trump has received a quintet of Senate endorsements, with potentially more to come, and is clearly looking to see if his old coalition of allies is willing to rally around him again. He unveiled endorsements from 11 House members in Texas this past weekend — and warned that those on the fence were encouraged not to come to his rally.

    Yet overall, the show of support for Trump is far from decisive. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is DeSantis’ only current backer — not much of a surprise, since DeSantis isn’t running yet — but few Hill conservatives are pushing the Florida governor to stay out of the race.

    “I do want DeSantis to run,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who plans to stay “neutral” in the event her colleague, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), jumps in. “Even if DeSantis and Trump are very close philosophically, there’s definitely a style difference there. And style is important.”

    The reasons for the cool reception to Trump are myriad: He left office two weeks after a violent insurrection by his backers, and his meddling in Republican primaries backfired to help Democrats keep the Senate last year. He associates with white nationalists and has seemingly never-ending legal woes. For many Republicans, the need to win after a streak of losses supersedes old loyalties.

    The House Freedom Caucus is composed of roughly 35 lawmakers, and about one-third of those members interviewed for this story are publicly supporting Trump again. That camp includes the group’s former chair, Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

    Fourteen Freedom Caucus members wouldn’t say where they stand on the primary, either stating they’re undecided as the race takes shape or declining to weigh in outright. The Trump-aligned group’s current leader, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), played a central role helping Trump challenge his 2020 loss.

    But the Pennsylvanian demurred when asked whom he would back in 2024: “We got a ways to go … I really am just focused on my work” in the House.

    Then there’s Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), a Freedom Caucus member caught on camera waving off Greene as she sought to put him on the phone with Trump during the speakership balloting. Rosendale has no plans to make a presidential endorsement and he sidestepped concerns that a rift with Trump could hurt his chances in the state primary should he decide to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

    “We’re not supposed to use telephones on the House floor. That’s all I’ve got to say about that,” he said. (When he shrugged off the chance to talk to Trump in January, however, there were no rules governing the House floor.)

    Fractures within the Freedom Caucus clearly emerged during the Trump administration, as the majority of the group shifted from libertarian ideology to a more MAGA-centric outlook. Now, some want to return to their former roots — which may well entail a different approach to 2024. One Freedom Caucus member, granted anonymity to speak candidly, described Trump as an unlikely pick.

    In addition, the field that’s shaping up is especially awkward in early primary states. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) cited his ties to Haley and Scott in declining to answer. But Duncan also served in Congress with Mike Pompeo, Kristi Noem, DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence. And he knows Trump, as all Republicans do.

    “My relationships with all those people really are more important to me than endorsing — early on — one of them. That could jeopardize my relationships,” Duncan said.

    Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) declined to address whom he’d support, instead contending it is a “good problem” to have multiple choices. Asked if he feared Trump attacking him if he ultimately backs someone else for president, he shrugged it off.

    “He might, because that’s just the way he is,” said the Freedom Caucus member. “But, if he wins, then we all hug again and keep on going.”

    Across the Capitol, five out of 49 Republican senators are openly endorsing Trump: Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, J.D. Vance of Ohio, and Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. Those on the sidelines at the moment range from Cruz, Trump’s 2016 rival turned ally, to Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), whom Trump pushed to victory in last year’s Senate primary.

    Budd at least sounded warm to Trump’s candidacy, expressing “tremendous gratitude for how he helped” in the midterms. Cruz would only say he foresees “a full and vigorous presidential primary, and I am confident it won’t be boring.”

    Some on-the-fence Republicans might be more willing to endorse Trump if he went back to talking about the economy. Take Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who’s a party barometer of sorts: A gubernatorial candidate and member of the conservative bloc that opposed Mitch McConnell for GOP leader. He also served as Trump’s biggest defender during his 2020 impeachment trial.

    ”If [Trump] would focus on what was going on pre-Covid, and not try to get the toothpaste back in the tube — which is not going to happen — I think he’s got a strong argument to make,” Braun said.

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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • UP: 3 held after firing takes place in jail over standing in queue

    UP: 3 held after firing takes place in jail over standing in queue

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    2 held for luring Maha woman with job, 'selling' her into Oman sex racket

    Meerut: Three persons were arrested following a firing that took place over standing in a queue at the meeting centre of the Chaudhary Charan Singh jail here on Saturday, officials said.

    According to police, four persons had an argument with a woman over forming a queue, one of whom fired at her. She had a narrow escape.

    Police arrested three of them while one managed to flee from the spot.

    Those arrested have been identified as Shokindra alias Johny (35), Vipin (30) and Shubham. All of them are residents of the Hastinapur area of Meerut. A pistol and two cartridges have been recovered from them.

    The fourth associate is named Puneet.

    Police have registered a case against the accused persons based on the complaint lodged by the woman.

    According to police, Shokindra had fired at her.

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    #held #firing #takes #place #jail #standing #queue

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Election of MCD Standing Committee members

    Election of MCD Standing Committee members

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    Election of MCD Standing Committee members



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    #Election #MCD #Standing #Committee #members

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Buttigieg, standing near Ohio derailment site, says he could have spoken ‘sooner’

    Buttigieg, standing near Ohio derailment site, says he could have spoken ‘sooner’

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    train derailment ohio 17685

    Buttigieg has faced a barrage of criticism, mostly from conservatives, for what they perceive as a slow response to the derailment, which resulted in toxic chemicals being released into the air and ground. Several Republicans say Buttigieg should have traveled to the crash site sooner, and some have even called for him to be fired or resign.

    Former President Donald Trump joined in the barrage on Tuesday, calling out Buttigieg, President Joe Biden and the EPA after touring the site of the crash, a visit intended to jump-start his slow-moving 2024 presidential campaign.

    “Buttigieg should’ve been here already,” Trump told reporters as he handed out MAGA hats after speaking alongside Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). Trump also said Biden should “get over here.”

    On Thursday, after meeting with the mayor, community members, DOT officials and first responders, including the fire chief in this deep-red village nestled in Columbiana County, Buttigieg indirectly addressed those comments in a wide-ranging 30-minute press conference. “And to any national political figure who has decided to get involved in the plight of East Palestine … I have a simple message, which is, I need your help,” Buttigieg said. “Because if you’re serious about this, there is more that we could do to prevent more communities from going through this.”

    Asked by POLITICO whether his perceived political ambitions had shaped reaction to his handling of the derailment, Buttigieg said, “I’m here for the work and not for the politics.”

    But politics have been driving the narrative for over a week, with no signs of stopping. On Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, the top Republican on the Senate committee in charge of rail safety, said Buttigieg is “desperate to salvage his credibility” and used a preliminary factual report issued earlier that morning by federal investigators to suggest that his policy solutions are “shallow” and designed to heap blame on Trump.

    The pressure has tested the normally mild-mannered former Indiana mayor, who got into a Twitter spat with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Tuesday after the Republican called for him to resign or be fired. Buttigieg took more veiled shots on Thursday, saying “anyone in Congress who cares about these issues, they are welcome to come to the table and work with us to get things done. So anybody who is interested in that, I’m going to hold them to that.”

    When asked Thursday by reporters whether he planned to resign, Buttigieg replied: “I’m not here for politics, I’m here to make sure the community can get what they need.”

    The trip coincided with the release of the a preliminary report from National Transportation Safety Board, an independent agency, which found that the crew of the 150-car Norfolk Southern train received an alert about an axle overheating, and attempted to slow the train down before it derailed. The NTSB’s investigation will likely take 12 to 18 months before it determines what caused the derailment.

    Despite the criticism, the White House has defended its response and the job Buttigieg has done, noting that officials from the EPA and the NTSB were on the ground within hours of the derailment. On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for the cleanup from the crash.

    “The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA’s order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community,” Regan said in a statement Tuesday. “Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they’ve inflicted on this community.”

    On Thursday, Buttigieg promised the federal government would make sure that happened.

    “We’re gonna be here, day in, day out, year in, year out, making our railroads safer and making sure Norfolk Southern meets its responsibilities. That is a promise, and one I take very, very seriously,” Buttigieg said.

    In the meantime, politicians — and the country — should be “wrapping their arms around the people of East Palestine,” Buttigieg said, “not as a political football, not as an ideological flashpoint, not as a ‘gotcha moment,’ but as thousands of human beings whose lives got upended … through no fault of their own.”



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    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Starmer is right to stop Corbyn standing for Labour at the next election – but he mustn’t purge dissent | Polly Toynbee

    Starmer is right to stop Corbyn standing for Labour at the next election – but he mustn’t purge dissent | Polly Toynbee

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    The shame of the Labour party – the Labour party! – being put into special measures by the Equality and Human Rights Commission for racism shocked most members to the core in 2020. To be released from that disgrace now is hardly a moment for celebration, after the EHRC’s original finding that Labour acted unlawfully in failing to rein in antisemitism under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

    His refusal to accept the overall findings set Corbyn on an inevitable path out of the parliamentary Labour party. He maintains “The scale of the problem was dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents inside and outside the party, as well as by much of the media.” But a party can’t be a little bit racist: the damning findings had to be swallowed whole.

    Keir Starmer’s confirmation today that Corbyn cannot stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election is hardly surprising. Cleansing the party of antisemitism is deeply personal for Starmer, as his wife is Jewish and they keep Jewish festivals. But Corbyn’s obstinacy was convenient, too, his expulsion an opportunity to demonstrate Starmer’s mission to get a grip on the party. Rishi Sunak’s feeble jibes at Starmer for serving in Corbyn’s cabinet bounce off him now.

    Of course, as Starmer said yesterday today, it’s a job not quite done: when the Labour MP Kim Johnson got up at PMQs to call the Israeli government fascist, she had to apologise to the house promptly, under threat from the chief whip.

    Taking over the leadership during the Covid crisis, Starmer devoted his time to fixing the party internally as he slowly made progress with voters. Asked his mission, he declared it was “winning”. It has paid off handsomely as he soars in the polls. I am told that many reports from local meetings speak of the Corbynite influence fading, with some of his supporters leaving altogether or changing their mind as the party inches towards power. Starmer has been lucky in the total implosion of the Tories and lucky again with the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon: polling for all her likely successors is unimpressive, aiding Labour’s chances in Scotland.

    No opposition leader has ever scored as low in Ipsos’s polling as Corbyn’s -60 personal approval rating, with Michael Foot at -56, and Iain Duncan Smith and William Hague tied at -37. Corbyn benefited from his opponents’ disastrous campaign in 2017, though his personal rating trailed far behind both Theresa May’s and his own party’s popularity – Labour won 40% of votes to the Tories’ 42.4%. Yet there are those who still see him as a saviour rather than a drag anchor: as the one who brought flocks of enthusiastic new members into the party, and prompted delighted chants of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn” at Glastonbury. He was betrayed by rightwingers in the party and brought down in 2019 by those who should have backed him, they say.

    The Guardian is often their chief villain. Whenever I write criticism of the government I am guaranteed Twitter and thread responses claiming that if only I, my colleagues and the paper had backed him, we wouldn’t be suffering this Tory era. A brief check in the archive would show that the only thing wrong with this analysis is that I, other columnists and the Guardian’s leader all urged voters to back Corbyn’s Labour party. How could we not, after a decade of brutal austerity, and given Boris Johnson’s unfitness for power? I backed just about every individual item in Labour’s 2019 manifesto: it was nothing like Michael Foot’s “longest suicide note in history”, which pledged to leave both the EU and Nato. Its obstacle was its implausible costings, with extra billions added during the campaign.

    But Labour’s worst problem was Corbyn himself, as voters feared his perceived lack of patriotism (prompted by, for example, his failure to sing the national anthem at a remembrance event) and told focus groups and pollsters they felt he was “not concerned about their issues” or “people like them”. Most voters never joined that misleading Glastonbury chorus.

    My own greatest anger with Corbyn him was over his refusal to campaign seriously against Brexit in the referendum. “Where is he?” I asked his advisers a couple of months before the vote. “He thinks the local elections more important,” was the unforgivable reply, when in truth he was a lexiter – a Bennite Brexiter.

    But because our monstrous election system offers only a binary choice, of course progressives of every hue had to back Labour against a nightmarish, sociopathic Tory leader. I never doubted that Corbyn would be a preferable prime minister to Johnson – the lowest of bars – but in 2019 he led Labour to its worst result since 1935. Now, Corbyn’s remaining believers cling to that last resort of all failed ideologues, the same refrain as the failing Brexiters’: we were betrayed.

    Corbyn seems likely to stand as an independent for Islington North, where Labour has an array of good would-be candidates. Groups within Labour such as Momentum may face a quandary, as they would automatically be expelled from the party if they campaigned for him against Labour. But in the present golden polling climate, it hardly matters who wins that one seat. What matters is that Labour has expunged the shame of the EHRC’s special measures. What matters, too, is that in its haste to escape the failure of Corbynism, Labour doesn’t overreach and purge anyone with anything original or interesting to say.

    Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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    #Starmer #stop #Corbyn #standing #Labour #election #mustnt #purge #dissent #Polly #Toynbee
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Parliamentary Standing Committee travels in Hyderabad Metro

    Parliamentary Standing Committee travels in Hyderabad Metro

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    Metro rails to run till 2 am on new year's eve

    Hyderabad: A 14-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs travelled by the Hyderabad Metro Rail.

    The panel led by Rajiv Ranjan Singh visited Metro Rail facilities and also travelled from Raidurg to Ameerpet stations and back on Saturday night.

    The committee comprising members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha has interacted with Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) Managing Director NVS Reddy and MD L&TMRHL, KVB Reddy and appreciated the successful operations of Hyderabad Metro for the past five years.

    N.V.S. Reddy has informed the Committee members that the Hyderabad Metro Rail is the world’s largest Metro Rail project in public private partnership mode and shown several facilities being extended to the commuters.

    The MDs have also shown them the shopping and other convenience stores in Ameerpet station which the members appreciated as useful to the commuters and at the same time generating revenue for the Concessionaire.

    Reddy has also explained the highlights of the new Airport Metro Express project being constructed with 100 percent state government funds. He informed them that the survey and other pre-construction works are going on at a brisk pace and that the project would be grounded soon.

    The other committee members who visited the metro rail facilities included R. Girirajan, Ram Chander Jangra, Kavita Patidar, Benny Behanan, Shankar Lalwani and Hasnain Masoodi.

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    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )