Tea Party Congressman Loses His Primary to the ‘Establishment’ Republican

A conservative Tea Party Republican was unseated by an “establishment” backed challenger Tuesday in the Kansas state GOP primary, dealing a significant blow to Congress’ most conservative unit.

In a race where the outsider was the incumbent and the “establishment” was the challenger, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS.) lost his primary bout with Dr. Roger Marshall, an OB-GYN.

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore

Nearly two and a half hours after the polls closed in Kansas’ 1st congressional district, Decision Desk HQ called the race for Marshall.

We are calling #KS01 for Roger Marshall. Congressman Huelskamp is now the first GOP incumbent to lose a primary w/o being redistricted

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) August 3, 2016

Huelskamp’s loss in the Republican primary is the first of his party to not be at the hands of a new redistricting measure.

Further, it is among the first losses by one of the Republicans who rode the Tea Party wave in 2010 to a more traditional GOP candidate.

Huelskamp voted against the Farm Bill, angering many rural Kansans. Not backing the Farm Bill resulted in Huelskamp’s opponent receiving the endorsements of Kansas Livestock Association, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Kansas Farm Bureau.

And while Huelskamp received backing from conservative stalwarts such as Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rand Paul (R-KY), his campaign ultimately sunk. Internal polling from the Marshall campaign showed the race in a dead heat nearly a month out of the primary race.

But the actual results on the ground leaned heavily toward the challenger, with Huelskamp losing his coveted seat and removing a place in the conservative and powerful House Freedom Caucus.

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Source: independent journal

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Delaware Death Penalty Struck Down: 5 Things Americans Should Know

On Tuesday afternoon, the Delaware Supreme Court released a 148-page unanimous ruling that the state’s current death penalty law is an unconstitutional violation of the Sixth Amendment.

The decision whether and how to reinstate the death penalty is now left to the state’s General Assembly.

Here are the basics of the ruling — and its implications — Americans need to know:

1. What U.S. Supreme Court precedent exists on the death penalty?

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Florida’s death penalty law was unconstitutional because it gave judges the final say to impose a death sentence, rather than juries.

Delaware, Florida, and Alabama are the only states that give judges the final authority over whether to sentence a convict to death, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

2. What happens next for Delaware convicts on death row?

The last execution in Delaware occurred in 2012. According to Delaware Online, 14 men are currently on death row and their position was put on hold over the course of the case.

Image Credit: Richard Bouhet/Getty Images

At this point, it is unclear whether this ruling will apply retroactively to the 14 men and the state has the option of appealing the decision in federal court.

3. How many states have the death penalty?

Now that Delaware’s current law is deemed unconstitutional, the death penalty is a legal punishment in 30 U.S. states.

In May 2015, Nebraska became the latest state to abolish the death penalty when the state legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

4. When will the U.S. Supreme Court next take up the death penalty?

In June 2016, the high court announced it has accepted two death penalty cases for the next term beginning in October.

Both of the cases are from Texas and although neither challenged the constitutionality of the punishment itself, two justices, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, recently called for a “full briefing” on “whether the death penalty violates the Constitution.”

5. What do Americans think of capital punishment?

According to an April 2015 Pew report, 56% of Americans favor the death penalty while 38% oppose. But since the mid-1990s, support for the punishment has decreased drastically:

Image Credit: Pew Research Center

Among Democrats, just 40% favored the death penalty last year, while 56% opposed. In 1996, Democrats actually favored capital punishment by a wide margin — 71% to 25%.

As of last year, 77% of Republicans favor the death penalty, down from 87% in 1996. The share of independents who favor the death penalty has fallen from 79% to 57% over the same period.

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Source: independent journal

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Trump Reveals ‘Easier’ Way He Got a Purple Heart. Then Democrat Double Amputee Shows Him How Much

Donald Trump has seemingly been embroiled in a whirlwind of controversy on military matters since Khizr Khan, the father of a slain Army veteran, called him out at the Democratic National Convention.

(The media silence about Pat Smith calling out Mrs. Clinton over those killed in the Benghazi terrorist attack, on the hand, has been deafening.)

Add a fresh controversy (or non-troversy, depending on one’s point-of-view) about a recent comment Trump made regarding his receipt of a Purple Heart from a grateful fan.

While at an event in Ashburn, Virginia, Trump gave his account of a touching moment he shared with a military veteran.

“He said, ‘That’s my real Purple Heart. I have such confidence in you.’ And I said, ‘Man, that’s, like, that’s, like, big stuff.’ I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier,” Trump said.

The authentic sentiment that Trump related was immediately overwhelmed by media blowback over his debatable phrasing. The context of Trump’s remarks–a New York Times piece over his four college deferments and one for his bad feet–as well as the imbroglio with Khizr Khan had created a hubbub looking for a fresh controversy.

Seizing the opportunity to blast Trump was Democratic Representative Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran whose wounds in the Iraq War led to the double amputation of her legs.

.@realdonaldtrump, this is how one usually looks when you are awarded the Purple Heart. Nothing easy about it. http://pic.twitter.com/K59HLnzmhK

— Tammy Duckworth (@TammyforIL) August 2, 2016

Rep. Duckworth’s post reads:

.@realdonaldtrump, this is how one usually looks when you are awarded the Purple Heart. Nothing easy about it.

In the struggle over the veterans’ vote, the Democratic Party has Donald Trump fixed in its crosshairs.

Regardless of what one thinks about Donald Trump, it is interesting to see Democrats excoriate the Republican presidential candidate over his lack of military service, when the “sacrifice” of both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in a time of war is seriously lacking.

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Source: independent journal

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