All posts tagged: Republican

Republican districts lose billions as clean energy cancellations surge

Republican districts lose billions as clean energy cancellations surge

Rendering: FREYR Clean energy investments took a serious hit in January, sinking to their lowest point since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) supercharged the industry with tax credits and incentives. Growing uncertainty around the future of these policies – especially with the Republican-majority Congress debating potential rollbacks – has led to a sharp drop in new projects and an increase in cancellations, reports E2. Last month, companies announced just $176 million in new clean energy-related factories and projects. That’s the lowest monthly total since August 2022 and only the fourth time investments failed to reach at least $1 billion, according to E2, a nonpartisan group that tracks investments and projects and advocates for policy that’s good for the economy and the environment. Meanwhile, clean energy project cancellations are stacking up. FREYR Battery just scrapped plans for a $2.6 billion battery factory in Georgia (rendering pictured), which would have created 700 jobs. Ford CEO Jim Farley also sounded the alarm this week, warning that tariffs and shifting policies could force the automaker to lay off workers. …

Republican Leaders Once Thought January 6 Was ‘Tragic’

Republican Leaders Once Thought January 6 Was ‘Tragic’

Donald Trump promised his supporters that if he won the presidency again, he would pardon at least some of the January 6 rioters who have been prosecuted. “Tonight I’m going to be signing on the J6 hostages pardons to get them out,” he told the crowd at Capital One Arena on Monday night. “And as soon as I leave, I’m going to the Oval Office, and will be signing pardons for a lot of people.” Many prominent Republicans seem to agree with Trump’s view that the January 6 insurrectionists, including men convicted of assaulting police officers, are government “hostages.” The view seems to be that Democrats are using the events of January 6 as an excuse to carry out what Trump calls a “witch hunt.” Prominent Republicans weren’t always blasé about January 6. Immediately following the attack on the Capitol, and even into the following year, many leading Republicans condemned the attack on the Capitol and the police officers assigned to protect it. As an antidote to amnesia, here is an incomplete compilation of remarks …

Jesus’s teachings shift evangelicals’ attitudes away from Republican positions

Jesus’s teachings shift evangelicals’ attitudes away from Republican positions

A new study published in Political Behavior reveals that religious messages emphasizing Christian values can shift white evangelical Republicans’ attitudes on refugees. By highlighting teachings such as Jesus’ call to love one’s neighbor, researchers found that evangelical Republicans became more supportive of refugee resettlement and expressed warmer feelings toward refugees, though support for government benefits remained unchanged. These findings suggest that moral framing rooted in faith may offer a pathway to bridging partisan divides on controversial issues. The study was conducted by a team of political scientists: Brian Newman, a professor at Pepperdine University; Stephanie DeMora, an assistant professor at Stony Brook University; Jennifer Merolla, a professor at the University of California, Riverside; and Elizabeth J. Zechmeister, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor at Vanderbilt University. The researchers sought to examine the tension between Christian values and partisan Republican stances on refugee issues. “We were drawn to this topic because we see an interesting tension in messages that reach white evangelical Christians: the party they tend to support (Republican) takes a restrictionist stance on refugees, while a …

Nick Clegg to step down from Meta role – with prominent Republican Joel Kaplan to replace him | US News

Nick Clegg to step down from Meta role – with prominent Republican Joel Kaplan to replace him | US News

Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg has said he is stepping down from his role at Facebook parent firm Meta. He said it was the “right time for me to move on” from president of global affairs. With Donald Trump just weeks from being sworn in, he will be replaced by former Republican White House deputy chief of staff Joel Kaplan, who served under George W Bush from 2006 to 2009. Sir Nick said: “As a new year begins, I have come to the view that this is the right time for me to move on from my role as president, global affairs at Meta. “It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime!” The ex-Liberal Democrat leader joined Meta as vice‑president for global affairs and communications in 2018 after losing his seat as an MP the year before. He was promoted in 2022, with Mark Zuckerberg saying the move put Sir Nick on a par with himself and that he would lead “on all our policy matters”. Sir Nick reportedly enjoys a multi-million-dollar …

Trump Confronts Republican Rifts – The Atlantic

Trump Confronts Republican Rifts – The Atlantic

How—and when—Republican lawmakers will turn the president-elect’s legislative agenda into law Courtesy of Washington Week With The Atlantic December 14, 2024, 12:26 PM ET Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here. In just over a month, Donald Trump will be sworn in as president again. He and his congressional allies want to hit the ground running, but Republican lawmakers are quickly confronting divides and questions over where to start. With a thin majority in the house, and being far short of the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass votes at will, a split has emerged among GOP leaders over how—and when—to turn Trump’s legislative agenda into law. Meanwhile, after making inflation and the cost of groceries a key part of his campaign, Trump has begun to walk back some of his promises to lower prices. On Washington Week With The Atlantic, panelists discuss what could be behind …

Americans’ opinion of Republican Party on the rise

Americans’ opinion of Republican Party on the rise

Americans’ opinion of the Republican Party is on the rise, according to a new poll from The Economist/YouGov. In the poll, 45 percent of Americans said they feel “favorable” toward the Republican Party, up 6 points from an Economist/YouGov poll in late October, when 39 percent said they felt favorable toward GOP. The number of… Source link

An open letter to the Director of the Office of Government Ethics. | Walter M. Shaub Jr.

An open letter to the Director of the Office of Government Ethics. | Walter M. Shaub Jr.

Dear Hon. David Huitema (David), Congratulations on being confirmed to serve as director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). Thank you for accepting a job you will not enjoy. It’s been more than a year since President Biden nominated you. The confirmation process took far too long, and it could not have been pleasant. Back in 2023, not long after President Trump’s appointee, Hon. Emory A. Rounds III, finished his term, Senator Mike Lee of Utah declared that the next OGE director should be chosen after the new president’s inauguration (although he had championed Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination shortly before the 2020 election). Since then, he has tried to block you from serving in that role. This September he even claimed in the Senate that “Mr. Huitema left open the possibility of supporting a partisan policy, a partisan approach, from a nonpartisan position.” If the senator had bothered to read the transcript of your confirmation hearing, he would have known you emphatically rejected partisanship. You can expect the Republicans to make increasingly frequent, …

How Democrats are using music to reclaim ‘Republican values’ of freedom, patriotism and leadership

How Democrats are using music to reclaim ‘Republican values’ of freedom, patriotism and leadership

Momentum in the 2024 US presidential campaign has fundamentally shifted in recent weeks, and music has played its part in this remarkable transformation. The Harris-Walz campaign is using particular kinds of music to help communicate its optimistic message of hope, inclusion and a brighter future for America. At The Democratic National Convention (DNC), Kamala Harris stepped onto the podium to deliver her nomination acceptance speech accompanied by her campaign soundtrack, the Beyoncé anthem “Freedom”. Tim Walz walked on stage to the sound of John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” (he grew up in a Nebraska town of 400 people). He walked off to Neil Young’s “Keep on Rockin’ in The Free World”. In addition to performances from stars like Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Pink, the DNC turned the delegate roll call into a dance party with DJ Cassidy blasting out state-themed songs and rapper Lil Jon singing live at the convention. Normally a rather staid process, this roll-call managed to become one of the most exciting moments of the convention. For well over two centuries, music …