Weld outlines primary strategy against Trump

Weld lays out GOP primary map for defeating Trump - POLITICO - Daniel Strauss:

May 23, 2019 - "Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld said he‘ll be directing his campaign toward open primary states where he expects to win crossover votes from Democrats intent on casting a vote against President Donald Trump before the general election in November.

“'I’ll be focusing on the 20 states that permit crossover voting. It’s not just Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, it’s 17 other states,' Weld said in an interview with C-SPAN's Newsmakers program.... “And a lot of those states permit even a Democrat to take a Republican ballot and I’ve heard from Democrats that they’re going to come and vote in the Republican primary for one day so that they can vote for me against Mr. Trump'....

"The former two-term GOP governor, who’s waging a longshot primary campaign against Trump, laid out a path to the 2020 Republican presidential nomination that runs through New England, the mid-Atlantic region and the West Coast. 'The geographic path in case you’re interested would be the six New England states and then down into the mid-Atlantic states where I’m a native, actually, of New York,' Weld said, ticking off New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware as three more states he saw as favorable to his candidacy.....

"Weld also argued that West Coast states would be receptive to his candidacy against Trump, who lost California, Oregon and Washington by wide margins in 2016.

"'A Republican would probably have a terrible time in California in the general election against a Democrat. It’s quite a blue state. But in the primary against Mr. Trump, I think my politics lines up more closely with California politics than Mr. Trump does,' said Weld, who ran as Gary Johnson's vice presidential nominee on [the] Libertarian Party ticket in 2016.

"While Weld is the only announced candidate running against Trump in the Republican primary, Maryland GOP Gov. Larry Hogan and former Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich have drawn mention as potential challengers. In the C-SPAN interview, Weld said he talked with Hogan and Kasich before he announced for president. He said he told both of them before he ran that 'the water's fine' and 'I would welcome you in. I know both of you.'"

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/23/gov-weld-2020-trump-1342651
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Amash 2020 run would help Trump in Michigan

Poll: An Amash 2020 libertarian run would hurt Biden more than Trump - Conservative Review:

"Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., might still try to run a spoiler campaign against President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, but it might not turn out the way he and his supporters want, according to some new numbers from his home state.

"A statewide survey of 600 Michigan voters found that a hypothetical Amash run as a Libertarian candidate ... would cut Biden’s head-to-head lead over Trump from 12 percentage points to six.... Amash only got 10 percent of his home state poll respondents’ support, putting him four points over the “undecided” category. The poll was conducted by the Lansing-based Glengariff Group and has a 4 percent margin of error....

"Trump beat Hillary Clinton by a narrow margin in Michigan in 2016, coming in over the Democrat by a scant 11,000 votes.

"Amash — a longtime outspoken critic of President Trump — has caused heated debate among conservatives and libertarians following remarks he made about the Mueller report, saying that it shows the president 'engaged in impeachable conduct.' Trump hit back, calling Amash 'a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy'....  Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., another libertarian-leaning Republican, countered Amash’s conclusions by saying ... that 'it’s wrong for any Republican to think oh gosh, this is a legitimate investigation. I think it’s a very partisan investigation.'

"In March, the libertarian-leaning Amash said that he hadn’t yet made up his mind about whether he’d mount a 2020 run and that he hadn’t ruled the idea out."

Read more: https://www.conservativereview.com/news/poll-an-amash-2020-libertarian-run-would-hurt-biden-more-than-trump/
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Former RI governor registers Libertarian

Make that four political parties for Lincoln Chafee - The Boston Globe - Edward Fitzpatrick:

June 4, 2019 - "Lincoln D. Chafee, the Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat who served as Rhode Island’s governor and as a US senator, is now a member of the Libertarian Party.

“'I bought property in Wyoming and registered to vote out there in my fourth party — I’m a Libertarian,' Chafee said Tuesday while in Providence. 'It’s what I’ve always been — fiscally conservative and socially liberal.'

The county clerk’s office in Teton County, Wyo., confirmed that Chafee, who lives in Teton Village, near Jackson, registered as a member of the Libertarian Party on March 11 of this year....

"The Chafee brothers are the sons of the late Republican Senator John H. Chafee, a former Navy secretary and governor.... Lincoln Chafee was appointed to the Senate when his father died in 1999, and he won a full term in 2000. He soon bucked the Republican Party, opposing President George W. Bush’s tax cuts and casting the only Senate Republican vote against authorizing the war in Iraq.

"In 2006, Chafee lost the Senate seat to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, and he left the Republican Party to become an independent in 2007. Chafee endorsed Democrat Barack Obama in 2008, and when Chafee ran for governor as an independent in 2010, President Obama withheld his endorsement from Democrat Frank T. Caprio....

"In 2013, Chafee joined the Democratic Party. But months later, amid low job-approval ratings, he announced he would not seek reelection. In 2015, he ran for president, seeking the Democratic nomination, but he failed to gain traction and withdrew from the race.

"Now, Chafee is a member of the Libertarian Party. 'They are against capital punishment, pro-choice, against war, strongly for the Fourth Amendment, no torture,' he explained. 'All these things that [America] has gotten away from.'

"So will Chafee, now 66, get back into politics at some point? 'I’m still on sabbatical,' he said."

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/rhode-island/2019/06/04/make-that-four-political-parties-for-lincoln-chafee/JGGdRYjlFo65STHLq1JS7N/story.html
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IL legislature votes to legalize adult-use cannabis

Illinois poised to enact historic recreational marijuana bill that could clear convictions for 770,000 - ABC News - Bill Hutchinson:

June 3, 2019 - "The governor of Illinois is poised to sign a bill legalizing the recreational use of marijuana there -- making it the first state to do so through its legislature and the 11th overall to legalize pot.

"The bill -- which permits marijuana possession and may clear the way for hundreds of thousands of criminal cases to be purged -- was sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's desk Friday after the state House of Representatives approved it with a 66-47 vote, the first time a state legislature in the United States has taken such action.... Pritzker ... has said he plans to sign the bill, which he estimates will garner the state $170 million in the first year alone.... Pritzker ... ran on a pledge to legalize cannabis....

"The legislation, House Bill 1438, will also allow residents of Illinois convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana to petition to have their records expunged if the offense was not associated with a violent crime. Some 770,000 Illinois residents could qualify to get their records cleared of low-level marijuana crimes, according to the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council.

"Under the proposed law, Illinois residents 21 and older, beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, will be able to legally possess up to 30 grams of cannabis -- a little more than an ounce -- and will be able to purchase it from licensed marijuana dispensaries (currently there are only medical dispensaries and 22 state-licensed cultivation centers). Non-residents of Illinois will be permitted to possess about half the amount of weed than residents will be allowed to possess.

"States that have already legalized recreational marijuana via a ballot initiative are Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Nevada, Vermont, Alaska, Maine, Michigan, and Washington. Voters in Washington D.C. also legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2014 and the law went into effect a year later.... In June [2018] Canadian lawmakers approved landmark legislation to fully legalize marijuana for the entire country.

"Users will have to pay heavy sales taxes on the cannabis they purchase in Illinois. A 10% tax will be imposed on marijuana products containing less than 35% tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the compound that gets users high, while products with higher doses of THC will carry a tax of up to 25% or more.

"While purchasing pot will become legal, it will remain illegal to smoke marijuana in public places or to drive while under the influence."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/illinois-poised-enact-historic-recreational-marijuana-bill-clear/story?id=63449800
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MD teen convicted of child porn for selfie video

A 16-Year-Old Girl Is Facing Child Pornography Charges for Making a Sex Video of Herself – Reason.com - Robby Soave:

May 29, 2019 - "Maryland's highest court will soon decide whether a 16-year-old girl, 'S.K.,' can face child pornography charges for taking a video of herself performing a sex act and sending it to a few of her close friends.

"S.K. shared the video, in which she performs consensual oral sex on an unidentified male, with two close friends and fellow students, who later reported her to the school resource officer. S.K. was the only person charged in connection with the alleged crime.

"The Special Court of Appeals upheld S.K.'s conviction, ruling that the consensual nature of the sex act in question was irrelevant, as was the fact that it was not illegal for S.K. to perform the act. Taking a video of the act and sending it to other people constituted distribution of child pornography, according to the court's decision....

"The Maryland Court of Appeals' ruling is expected later this year. The court, which is Maryland's equivalent of a state supreme court, heard oral arguments in February.... S.K.'s attorney, Public Defender Claudia Cortese, argued that the statute in question was not intended to punish minors for being featured in pornographic materials, but rather, to protect them. Punishing S.K., as the state has attempted to do, is cruel and authoritarian.

"The state, on the other hand, has asserted that S.K. needs guidance, and that probation and a mandatory mental health evaluation were reasonable outcomes.... Because her case on the distribution of child pornography was in juvenile court, the teen never faced a mandatory sentence or the possibility of having to register as a sex offender. She was put on probation and referred for a mental health evaluation.

"That teens shouldn't send sexy videos to each other — because they are bound to get out, cause embarrassment, and raise legal issues — is something S.K.'s parents, teachers, and school administrators could have impressed upon her without the heavy-handed involvement of the police and courts. It is draconian to charge a 16-year-old girl with trafficking in child pornography because she willingly filmed herself performing oral sex. Upholding S.K.'s conviction would set a disturbing precedent."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/05/29/16-year-old-girl-sex-porn-child-court-case/
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Legal medical cannabis cut workplace deaths

Workplace Deaths Fell 34% After Medical Cannabis Legalization | Leafly - Emily Earlenbaugh:

May 29, 2019 - "Medical cannabis laws are associated with a staggering 34% decline in workplace deaths for adults age 25 to 44, a new study finds. The reason? Those workers might be drinking less alcohol and taking less pills due to legalization.

"Since 1996, a record 29 states have passed medical cannabis laws, many of them loose enough to attract recreational consumers.... Chambers of Commerce and other business groups have long-opposed reform, based on workplace safety concerns.... But after 23 years of medical cannabis laws, we can check the data on workplace safety and see how the medical states have done.

"A 2018 study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy zeroes in how workplace fatality statistics changed when a state had access to legal cannabis. In the paper, 'Medical marijuana laws and workplace fatalities in the United States,' researchers ... analyzed data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1992 and 2015.

"In states with legal cannabis, expected workplace fatalities went down by an average of 19.5% for workers who were 25 to 44 years old. This reduction in fatalities also grew stronger with time. In states that had medical cannabis laws for at least five years, researchers found a very large, 33.7% reduction for this age group’s workplace fatalities....

"Young adults particularly stand to benefit from legalization, in the form of decreased workplace deaths, the study found. While the study looked at all age groups, the 25 to 44 year-old group saw the declines. Workers who were ages 16 to 24, or 44 and above, saw no statistically significant changes in workplace deaths. D. Mark Anderson, Ph.D., one of the principal researchers on this project, says that this age-dependent result reflects the known effects of cannabis laws....

"But how does this work? Unfortunately, researchers still aren’t quite sure.... Anderson’s previous research concluded cannabis laws are associated with a 5% reduction in alcohol consumption. In one study, medical cannabis laws were associated with reductions in drinking and traffic fatalities in young adults. Drunk driving on the job is a major vector for workplace death....

"Medical cannabis laws are also associated with a 20 to 33% decrease in opioid deaths. This is particularly interesting, since Anderson’s workplace safety study found greater fatality reductions in states where ‘pain’ was a qualifying condition to receive cannabis....

"We may have to wait find out exactly how — but one thing is clear. The old worry that medical cannabis laws lead to increased accidents doesn’t hold water. Medical cannabis laws are associated with improved workplace safety."

Read more: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/workplace-deaths-fell-34-after-medical-cannabis-legalization
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Daily Beast wants to draft Amash 4 President

Justin Amash for President: A Change Conservatives Can Believe In - Matt Lewis, The Daily Beast:

May 29, 2019 - "As a conservative who has grave concerns about Donald Trump, I’ve arrived at an unavoidable conclusion: it’s time to draft Justin Amash for president....

"I’m not naïve enough to think he can win. I’m just looking for someone—anyone!—for whom I can, in good conscience, cast my vote.... There are no viable options currently available within the bounds of our binary, two-party system....

"Trump’s authoritarian tendencies, disrespect for the rule of law, and lack of civility and temperament make it impossible to back him. Even with his solid judicial nominees and tax cuts, how in good conscience can a principled conservative support four more years for this president?

"But it’s not like Democrats are that much better.... Trump is so bad, the argument goes, that conservatives should simply reject a political philosophy we’ve embraced for our entire lives and endorse people who are diametrically opposed to our core beliefs.... [I]f you are a principled conservative who cares deeply about enacting conservative public policy ... being complicit in advancing this agenda is a non-starter.

"Enter Justin Amash, a young libertarian-leaning Republican who uses social media to explain every vote he makes. Amash distinguished himself in the last several months — first by voting against the president’s bogus 'emergency order' regarding the border wall — and then by coming out in favor of impeachment. As Politico’s Tim Alberta has observed, 'Justin Amash is the most intellectually honest and consistent GOP member of Congress.'

"In response, Republicans have accused him of being an opportunist and an attention hog, which are absurd claims.... Amash has more to lose than to gain. His primary challenge from a Trump supporter back home in Michigan, coupled with his loss of financial support from the DeVos family, demonstrates how intellectual honesty comes at a price....

"I would certainly support him in a Republican primary, but the better move would be for Amash to run as a third-party candidate (possibly as a Libertarian, if he could win that party’s nomination). Doing so would once again allow people like me to participate in a general election without selling our souls in the process....

"So there you have it.... Justin Amash for president. I’m ready to sign up. The draft movement starts here. Let’s make it happen."

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/justin-amash-for-president-a-change-conservatives-can-believe-in

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