<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stephen-a-smith-apologizes-for-saying-rihanna-aint-no-beyonce-ahead-of-super-bowl-performance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stephen A. Smith</a> pleaded with Democrats to stop what he called the “disaster” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/heres-what-happened-during-day-1-of-trumps-hush-money-trial">hush money</a> trial of former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> involving porn star Stormy Daniels.
During “The Stephen A. Smith Show” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymjdmzh9BEA">podcast</a> on Tuesday, the ESPN host blasted the criminal prosecution of Trump — who’s facing 34 charges, accused of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged affair with Daniels — reminding Democrats of former President Bill Clinton’s Oval Office dalliances while president and married.
&#8220;Ladies and gentlemen, this is a disaster&#8230; You want Trump gone, beat him… Is it possible it could be perceived that you are going after Trump using lawfare because you can’t beat him. Because you know the issues don&#8217;t favor you?” Smith said, noting things like Iran, Ukraine, trouble at the border, and rising crime.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Donald Trump&#039;s criminal trial is here" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ymjdmzh9BEA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“Y’all remember Bill Clinton? &#8230;Lying under oath. Remember that? No sexual relations?” he added, pointing out other Democrats like former Democratic Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards who had an illicit affair with a campaign aide.
The host asked if the Democrats were “really, really” planning to “push this where a state like New York has a former President in a courtroom because he paid $130,000 in hush money…to keep a porn star’s mouth shut about the fact that they got loose with each other because he didn’t want that to taint his campaign.”
Smith then talked about the “sexual encounter” Clinton had with the former White House intern Monica Lewinsky during his presidency and slammed the trial as “much ado about nothing.”
“To my liberal friends out there, all you’re doing is showing that you’re scared you can’t beat him on the issues and the merits,” the host said. &#8220;That’s why he [Trump] keeps saying they can’t beat me at the election, at the polls. This is the only way they can do it.”
&#8220;And if you don’t put him in jail, and he still goes from being the presumptive GOP nominee to the official GOP nominee, and he goes to the polls, even though he was going to whine about winning and [the election] being rigged again, you have given more fodder to that argument, which means we’ll never have peace in this country,” he added. &#8220;Because tens of millions of people see what extent the other side is willing to go through just to keep him out of office because they can’t beat him on their own merits.”
“And they’re going to say, ‘Hey, you trumped us up against him again,’ and we’ll have no peace when all you gotta do is figure out a way to beat him on the issues,” Smith continued. “But you haven’t been able to do it. You can’t beat him [Trump]&#8230; Everything you do shows me you can’t beat him. It’s a damn shame. It really, really is. It’s embarrassing. &#8220;

Dallas Mavericks v Philadelphia 76ers

‘Remember Bill Clinton’: Stephen A. Smith Pleads With Democrats Stop ‘Disaster’ Trump Hush Money Trial

'Remember Bill Clinton’: Stephen A. Smith Pleads With Democrats Stop ‘Disaster’ Trump Hush Money Trial

Celebrities

Democrats

Donald Trump

Entertainment

Joe Biden

News

Stephen A. Smith

Arizona House Republicans have once again rejected an attempt to fast-track a bill that would repeal a 160-year-old abortion ban that the state&#8217;s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-supreme-court-upholds-1864-law-protecting-unborn-babies-from-abortion-in-nearly-all-cases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed to go into effect</a>.
On Wednesday, Republican leaders in the state House rejected a motion by Democrat Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, which called for a procedural vote on fast-tracking her bill that would repeal the 1864 abortion ban, but the GOP leaders allowed for a vote on if their move to block the vote was correct, AZ Central <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2024/04/17/arizona-abortion-ban-lawmakers-poised-to-again-try-to-overturn-1864-law/73331740007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Republicans, who hold a one-seat majority in the Arizona House, lost one fellow party member on the vote, leading to a 30-30 split. The tie was broken by a vote from the chair against moving forward with the abortion ban repeal.
“The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and affirmed by the legislature several times,” House Speaker Ben Toma said, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/17/politics/arizona-house-abortion-law-repeal/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>.
Republicans&#8217; rejection of the fast-tracked repeal attempt marks the second time the House has stopped an effort to kill the law since the 1864 abortion ban was greenlit by the state&#8217;s Supreme Court last week. Last Wednesday, a motion by Republican state Rep. Matt Gress was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/arizona-republicans-shut-down-bid-to-quickly-repeal-abortion-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped</a> by a GOP motion to recess, sparking an outcry from Democrats.
After the House voted in favor of recess over moving forward with a repeal of the abortion law, some Democratic state lawmakers began shouting &#8220;Shame!&#8221; on the House floor.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🚨JUST IN—Democrats in the Arizona state house have hijacked the legislative session shouting &quot;SHAME&quot; and &quot;BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS&quot; at Republicans following yesterday&#39;s Arizona Supreme Court&#39;s ruling on abortion. <a href="https://t.co/0ztaRFhkOd">pic.twitter.com/0ztaRFhkOd</a>
&mdash; Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1778141153696817347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
At least two Arizona Republican lawmakers — Reps. Matt Gress and David Cook — have indicated that they support a repeal of the abortion law, according to AZ Central. Gress voted with Democrats on Wednesday&#8217;s procedural vote, and Cook told CNN last week that &#8220;this territorial law needs to be repealed.&#8221; Cook, however, voted with Republicans on Wednesday to reject fast-tracking a repeal bill.
The Arizona Supreme Court&#8217;s decision has caused division among Republicans, many of whom are attempting to navigate the hot-button issue while they run a campaign. Arizona Republicans running in tight 2024 races, such as Senate candidate Kari Lake and Rep. David Schweikert, have released statements saying they oppose the 1864 abortion law.
Former President Donald Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-calls-on-arizona-governor-legislature-to-act-immediately-on-abortion-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> on Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and the state legislature &#8220;to remedy what has happened” and “act as fast as possible,” adding that the Arizona Supreme Court &#8220;went too far on their Abortion Ruling, enacting and approving an inappropriate Law from 1864.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Pro-life groups such as LiveAction and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, however, celebrated the state high court&#8217;s decision and the law&#8217;s protection of unborn children.

Arizona State Capitol

Arizona Republicans Reject Another Effort To Repeal Law Protecting Unborn Babies From Nearly All Abortions

Abortion

Arizona

Politics

Republicans

Social Issues

Numerous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/democratic-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Democrats</a> in the nation&#8217;s capital refused to condemn burning the American flag and chanting &#8220;death to America&#8221; when confronted by a reporter this week.
The questions from the reporter came in response to far-Left protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City this week holding a pro-Palestinian <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/us-news/hundreds-of-anti-israeli-protesters-wreak-havoc-in-downtown-nyc-disrupt-bridge-traffic-as-cops-make-arrests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demonstration</a> that disrupted traffic.
&#8220;Anti-Israel protesters blocking the Brooklyn Bridge were burning the American flag and chanting &#8216;Death to America,'&#8221; the reporter said to Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA). &#8220;Do you support that type of protest? Congresswoman, do you support burning the American flag and chanting Death to America?&#8221;
Pressley refused to answer or even acknowledge the reporter.
The reporter later asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) the same questions.
&#8220;Does it sound like this is pro-Palestinian or anti-American if they&#8217;re burning American flags and chanting Death to America?&#8221; the reporter asked.
&#8220;I&#8217;m, I&#8217;m not privy to&#8211;, to, I haven&#8217;t seen these reports,&#8221; AOC responded. &#8220;I&#8217;d have to check for them myself.&#8221;
The reporter then asked Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), who just lost the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in California if she condemned the actions of the protesters on the bridge.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;We&#8217;ve gotta get her onto her next event,&#8221; one of Porter&#8217;s staffers said.
&#8220;Are you okay with people burning the American flag?&#8221; the reporter asked.
&#8220;If you&#8217;d like to follow up with us&#8211;&#8221; the staffer interrupted.
&#8220;Are you okay with people chanting Death to America?&#8221; the reporter pressed. &#8220;Congresswoman Porter, are you okay with people chanting Death to America? Is it okay? Do you not have a problem with it?&#8221;
The staffer repeatedly interrupted as Porter refused to answer any of the questions.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Democrats REFUSE to condemn protesters burning The American Flag! <a href="https://t.co/2n4SY43mvJ">pic.twitter.com/2n4SY43mvJ</a>
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseBWatters/status/1780400785651855433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2024</a></blockquote>

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

WATCH: Democrats Refuse To Condemn Burning American Flag, Chanting ‘Death To America’

American Flag

Congress

Hamas

A California bill working its way through the legislature would make the crime of buying child sex a serious felony, replacing current statute in the far-left state that treats soliciting a minor for sex as a misdemeanor.
A bipartisan <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1414" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> would raise solicitation of a minor from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by up to four years in prison, and a fine of up to $25,000. The bill would also require a person convicted of soliciting a minor to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
The <a href="https://sr12.senate.ca.gov/content/sen-grove-introduces-bi-partisan-measure-continue-fight-against-human-trafficking-0#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%20takes%20two%20criminals%20to,are%20purchasing%20sex%20from%20children.">measure</a>, introduced by Republican State Senator Shannon Grove in February and co-sponsored by two Democrats, is scheduled for a committee vote on Tuesday, but it faces an uphill battle for passage.
As of Thursday, the new bill did not have the votes to make it out of committee. Critics are concerned it could target minorities, she explained, but criticized that point of view.
&#8220;Red, yellow, black, or white, you should be in prison,&#8221; Grove said during a phone interview with The Daily Wire on Thursday, arguing that putting child sex buyers behind bars for two years will keep them off the streets and prevent them from soliciting more children, at least during that period.
She said she is working on negotiating with her colleagues without giving up the meat of the bill. Last year, Grove was able to convince a skeptical Democrat-controlled legislature to pass a similar bill that reclassified child sex trafficking from a misdemeanor to a major felony, establishing harsher criminal penalties for traffickers. That bill went into effect on January 1.
Democrats in the legislature were forced to reconsider and support the sex trafficking bill after scathing social media backlash criticizing their initial reluctance.
California&#8217;s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom voiced support for last year&#8217;s bill, saying he personally called Grove about it and was &#8220;surprised&#8221; when it initially failed to pass the committee vote.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D) also said at the time that the issue was “something that we are addressing and it’s something we are going to get right.”
Neither Newsom nor Rivas responded to a request for comment on whether they would support Grove&#8217;s new bill targeting buyers.
Before Grove&#8217;s successful bill last year, lawmakers had <a href="https://calmatters.org/justice/2023/07/child-trafficking-bill-california-legislature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tried</a> at least nine times since 2007 to reclassify child sex trafficking as a more serious crime.
This year, her focus is the purchasers of child sex, Grove said.
&#8220;I want to make the solicitation, the person who&#8217;s going out there going, &#8216;hey little 13-year-old, fourteen-year-old, fifteen-year-old, I want to get that person. I want that person to face felony charges. That&#8217;s what the bill does,&#8221; Grove said during her interview with The Daily Wire.
Grove said she spoke to sex trafficking survivors last year who told her, &#8220;You&#8217;ve got to go after the buyers&#8221; in order to really crack down on the child sex trade.
<div>
A group called Exodus Cry, a nonprofit that works to abolish illegal sex trafficking <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5jukB9sN-Y/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA%3D%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> a viral video to Instagram last week that featured people reacting with shock and disgust to hearing that buying child sex is only a misdemeanor in California.
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5jukB9sN-Y/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14">
<div style="padding: 16px;">
&nbsp;
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div>
<div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div>
<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div>
</div>
<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div>
<div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div>
<div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div>
</div>
&nbsp;
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5jukB9sN-Y/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Exodus Cry (@exoduscry)</a>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> 
Helen Taylor, vice president of impact at Exodus Cry argued that eliminating sex trafficking requires going after the demand and implementing proper deterrents.
</div>
&#8220;For this to currently be a misdemeanor, and frequently prosecuted as such, reveals an inadequate understanding of how serious of a crime sex trafficking is,&#8221; Taylor told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;We want every child in California to be better protected and receive the justice they deserve should they ever be trafficked and exploited at the hands of a sex buyer,&#8221; she said.
Taylor urged committee members to vote in favor of the bill on Tuesday.
&#8220;Our laws send a message about what behaviors we are willing to tolerate. Paying money to abuse a child is something we will not tolerate,&#8221; Taylor said. &#8220;It is surely a &#8216;no brainer&#8217; to make buying a child for sex a felony in California and if not, we have a serious problem.&#8221;

Boy Behind Glass Door

Buying Child Sex Is Only A Misdemeanor In California. This Bill Would Change That.

Soliciting Children For Sex Is Only A Misdemeanor In California. This Bill Would Change That.

California

Child Abuse

Child Sex Abuse

Gavin Newsom

Republican

Democrats are going to try to shift the entire election so it becomes about abortion.
Donald Trump made a very savvy political move in dissociating himself from the issue entirely; he said that the federal government should not be involved in the abortion issue.
Though I am strenuously against abortion, the reality is that the most the president of the United States can do unilaterally without congressional approval is implement items like the Mexico City policy, which is funding for abortion overseas, or target spending at Planned Parenthood domestically.
The reality is that there used to be a fairly wide consensus that the federal government should not involve itself in abortion by funding abortion. Joe Biden is the one who broke that pact by saying that you and I should fund abortions across the country. He&#8217;s the one who said the Hyde Amendment should go.
So Trump made a politically moderate move by saying let the states take care of it.
Then, on Tuesday, an Arizona state Supreme Court decision came down that reinstated a 160-year-old abortion ban in the state of Arizona unless it was necessary to save a woman&#8217;s life.
By the way, this gives the lie to the frequently used Democratic narrative that there were no abortion laws and no one cared about it until Roe v. Wade. There were abortion laws on virtually every state book dating back centuries in this country.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1944-the-abortion-issue-explodes-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
What Democrats want is for pro-lifers to move really fast and really hard in a wide variety of battleground states, hoping they will then get the Michigan-Kansas response.
As you may recall, Kansas put a measure on the ballot calling essentially for the capacity to change the state constitution to allow for abortion legislation, and opponents said, “They&#8217;re going to ban all abortions in the state.” Instead, Kansas ended up enshrining abortion in the state constitution. The same thing happened in Michigan.
This is an argument I&#8217;ve had with many of my pro-life colleagues. We all have the same exact position when it comes to life, that life should be protected from the point of conception. The question is: How do you reach that in a durable manner such that the law does not end up being reversed and allowing millions of abortions over the course of time?
That is a pragmatic question, and not every state is going to approach it the same way; Mississippi, Alabama, and deep red states can pass very strict abortion bans and all will be fine because the vast majority of the population supports such bans.
But in Arizona, a very split state right now, it becomes far more difficult.
The reason the Democrats are elevating this — not just on the state level, but on the national level — is because they are hoping to be able to pin the full pro-life position on Trump federally, even though this is happening in the state of Arizona.
There was a report that Arizona Republican legislators thought the court’s decision would flip the legislature to the Democrats and affect the presidential election.
Trump preempted the Arizona Supreme Court decision by taking it off the federal table.
That leaves Democrats with a conundrum.
The conundrum is that Trump is more moderate than they are on this issue — and they know electorally, that could hurt them.

Former President Donald Trump Travels To Atlanta, Georgia

Trump Preempts Democrats’ Attack On Him Regarding Abortion

2024 Election

Ben Shapiro

Opinion

Planned Parenthood

Readers Pass

A speech from a Democrat representative in favor of a school choice bill went viral as the Louisiana House voted overwhelmingly on Monday to pass the measure, which now goes on to the state Senate.
Rep. Jason Hughes, a Democrat representative from New Orleans since 2019, gave a passionate speech from the House floor in support of proposed legislation that would create an education scholarship program for parents to choose alternative options to the default public school system. The bill <a href="https://legiscan.com/LA/rollcall/HB745/id/1421857" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> the House 72-32 with 65 Republicans and seven Democrats backing the bill. 
“As I watch children in poverty, trapped in failing schools, who can hardly read, I&#8217;d be damned if I will continue to defend the status quo,” Hughes said in his speech, which was viewed over half a million times on X. “Too many of our children are dropping out, and then we wonder why we have to have a crime session.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
APPLAUSE FROM THE CHAMBER for Jason Hughes: 
&quot;I know the political ramifications for me for voting for this bill. 
But I don&#39;t need this $16,800 a year job bad enough to watch our children continue to live in poverty, trapped in failing schools, and not try to do something.… <a href="https://t.co/rgHSbo538A">pic.twitter.com/rgHSbo538A</a>
&mdash; Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist (@DeAngelisCorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1777481614873800788?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I know the political ramifications for me for voting for this bill,” Hughes added. “But I don&#8217;t need this $16,800 a year job bad enough to watch our children continue to live in poverty, and trapped in failing schools, and not try to do something.”
“And in the event I&#8217;m not re-elected, this is what I know: my steps are ordered. This is what I know: my heart is pure. I came here to do tough things. I came here to make tough decisions. And I came here to put children first,” he said. 
Last week, Hughes <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/louisiana-democrat-bucks-party-voting-school-choice-bill-poor-kids-trapped-failing-schools" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> alongside Republicans on the Louisiana Appropriations Committee to advance the legislation to the House floor. Democrats have historically been opposed to school choice proposals in part because of their strong ties to teachers unions. 
“I can&#8217;t close my eyes to the 67% of 3rd graders in public schools who cannot read. I cannot close my eyes to the number of kids living in poverty in our state that are trapped in failing schools,” he said. 
House Bill 745, known as the Giving All True Opportunity to Rise Scholarship Program, was <a href="https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_9c9c0af2-f66f-11ee-b2b4-5f1e4cd0e84a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">authored</a> by Republican Rep. Julie Emerson. It would create a three-phase education scholarship program starting with students in impoverished families before expanding out. 
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1712759107458000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Tu_bbgaIzPZlwVTiisdPO">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;This program will allow the money to truly follow the child and empower the parents to be able to choose the education that it is best for their child,&#8221; Emerson said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe this bill will shut down our public schools and nor is that my desire at all. I don&#8217;t believe there has been a single school closure in a state that has adopted an ESA program.&#8221;
If passed by the state Senate, Republican Governor Jeff Landry is expected to sign it as he praised the House’s passage of the bill. 
“The Louisiana House just passed the Gator Scholarship Program! This is a major step towards ensuring school choice, and empowering parents to choose the learning environments that align with their values and work best for their children,” he <a href="https://twitter.com/LAGovJeffLandry/status/1777473881407701449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1777473881407701449%7Ctwgr%5Ea670631e402b5ded86dcd62da9de2c25578f4764%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecentersquare.com%2Flouisiana%2Farticle_9c9c0af2-f66f-11ee-b2b4-5f1e4cd0e84a.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. 
Both Alabama and Georgia have already passed school choice measures this year and Tennessee is also looking to expand its school choice program as well as its legislative session winds down.

Screen Shot 2024-04-10 at 7.08.13 AM

Louisiana Democrat Votes For School Choice Bill, Says He Can No Longer Back ‘Failing Schools’

Education

Louisiana

School Choice

U.S.

The Arizona Supreme Court came down with a major abortion ruling on Tuesday, upholding a law passed in 1864 that outlaws all abortions in the state except when the mother&#8217;s life is at risk.
The case made its way to the state&#8217;s highest court after an appeals court ruled in December 2022 that doctors could not be prosecuted under the 160-year-old abortion ban that went into effect before Arizona was a state. The state Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that the law &#8220;is now enforceable&#8221; and can take effect in 14 days pending any additional legal challenges, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/us/arizona-abortion-ban.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The law mandates that anyone who aids an abortion, except in the case of saving the mother&#8217;s life, be punished by two to five years in prison, AZ Central <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2024/04/09/arizona-abortion-law-state-supreme-court-upholds-near-total-ban/73251148007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed a 15-week limit into law in 2022, which came just three months before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, opening the door for states to enact their own limitations or bans on abortion.
“We celebrate this enormous victory for unborn children and their mothers. Reinstating Arizona’s pro-life law will protect more than 11,000 babies annually at all stages of pregnancy while providing an exception for the life of the mother,&#8221; Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a <a href="https://sbaprolife.org/newsroom/press-releases/unborn-babies-their-mothers-protected-in-arizona-for-now" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. &#8220;This includes babies who have heartbeats, babies who can feel pain, and babies who can smile and suck their thumbs. Today’s state Supreme Court decision is a major advancement in the fight for life in Arizona.&#8221;
Last year, Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs signed an executive order giving the state&#8217;s attorney general, who is currently a Democrat, the power to enforce abortion laws. Attorney General Kris Mayes has vowed not to enforce any limitations or bans on abortion and said shortly after the state Supreme Court ruling that its decision is &#8220;an affront to freedom.”
“The Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans,” Mayes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/us/arizona-abortion-ban.html">said</a>. “Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state.”
Hobbs also <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorHobbs/status/1777756501974934007" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the decision represents &#8220;a dark day in Arizona&#8221; and vowed that she &#8220;won&#8217;t stop fighting until we have secured the right to abortion.&#8221;
Shortly after the abortion decision, Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake released a <a href="https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1777763769890071022" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> saying she opposed the state Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling and called on the governor and legislature &#8220;to come up with an immediate common sense solution that Arizonans can support.&#8221;
Democrats are already using the ruling to pit their pro-abortion policies against what they describe as &#8220;extreme abortion laws&#8221; in some states. The Biden campaign <a href="https://twitter.com/BidenHQ/status/1777755420498461062">posted</a> on X showing side-by-side videos of Trump&#8217;s Monday statement on abortion — in which the former president said laws should be left up to the states — with an MSNBC report of the Arizona Supreme Court ruling. The Biden campaign said the 160-year-old abortion law &#8220;is now enforceable because Trump ended Roe.&#8221;
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-releases-long-awaited-abortion-position-says-policies-should-be-left-to-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a video statement</a> on Monday morning where he came out against federal limitations on abortion and said the issue should be left up to the states.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” Trump said.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
“At the end of the day, this is about the will of the people,” Trump said, adding later, “You must follow your heart on this issue, but remember: you must also win elections to restore our culture and, in fact, to save our country.”
Democrats and pro-abortion advocates have been pushing for an abortion measure as they seek to make abortion an unrestricted practice and allow doctors to perform the procedure at any point of a pregnancy. Those pushing for pro-abortion policies say the initiative has already received enough signatures to appear on the November ballot.
Arizona, a vital battleground state in the 2024 election, has been polling in Trump&#8217;s direction as the former president focuses on immigration and the border crisis. As of Tuesday afternoon, Trump leads Biden by 4.5 points in Arizona, according to the <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/arizona/trump-vs-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RealClearPolitics</a> polling average.

Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix

Arizona Supreme Court Upholds 1864 Law Protecting Unborn Babies From Abortion In Nearly All Cases

Court

Courts

Pro-Life Movement

Right now, it feels as though the world is in a state of constant revolution. The reason for this is because our political movements, particularly on the Left, have decided to worship the revolutionaries.
Example A: Greta Thunberg. 
Greta Thunberg, 21-years-old, is not an important person. There&#8217;s nothing about Greta Thunberg that suggests she knows anything about absolutely anything. She&#8217;s not an environmentalist expert and she is not an expert on foreign policy. Yet she has been held up as a model for our times, a person we all ought to follow, a sort of Joan of Arc when it comes to the moral conscience of the West.
Why? Because she&#8217;s a revolutionary and the West now worships revolutionaries. 
Over the weekend, she was arrested not once, but twice on the same day for blocking traffic at a climate protest to shout about a climate emergency. She explained, “We are in a planetary emergency.”
Thunberg is worshiped by the Left for this sort of nonsense.
But — she&#8217;s not the only one. There is a worship for the revolution when it comes to the Left. The revolutionaries must always be treated with extraordinary deference.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1942-did-joe-biden-just-save-hamas-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
When it was Black Lives Matter, rioters were burning down cities, doing $2 billion in damages — the single most damaging spate of riots in American history. The entire legacy media treated this not as though it was something deeply wrong and actually evil — it&#8217;s evil to burn down somebody else&#8217;s shop in the name of racial justice — but rather, as a group of people who are just a little bit too passionate. It was just that they were too committed to the cause.
You can see this now in the treatment of the pro-Hamas protesters who are showing up at Democratic events. The pro-Hamas protesters are, in fact, emissaries of an evil ideology. If you are standing for an actual genocidal terror group who wishes to impose Sharia law on its own citizens and to murder everyone else, you&#8217;re the bad guy.
But the Left has treated them with extraordinary deference. The New York Times published an entire piece titled “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/07/us/politics/democrats-israel-gaza-protesters.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How Gaza Protesters Are Challenging Democratic Leaders</a>.”
The normal way a decent civilization would treat these people would be as moral outcasts. It would shun them. It would say, “You don&#8217;t know what the hell you&#8217;re talking about. You&#8217;re moral idiots, and you are standing for a group of people who are legitimately the worst people on planet Earth. You&#8217;re trying to preserve a terrorist group to continue running the Gaza Strip after subjecting that entire area to their own predations.”
But the New York Times reported: 
<blockquote>In Detroit, a congressman’s holiday party devolved into chaos and a broken nose after demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza appeared with bullhorns. In Fort Collins, Colo., the mayor abruptly ended a meeting during which protesters demanding a cease-fire in Gaza glued their hands to a wall.
And in places as disparate as a historic church in South Carolina and Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, President Biden has been heckled and drowned out by demonstrators objecting to his support for Israel. Protests over the Biden administration’s handling of the war are disrupting the activities of Democratic officials from city halls to Congress to the White House, complicating their ability to campaign — and, at times, govern — during a pivotal election year.</blockquote>
The New York Times is not saying these protesters are wrong or bad, which they are. They&#8217;re both wrong and bad. Instead, the Times are saying Biden should take more stock of these protesters.
Who are these protesters? They&#8217;re the kinds of people who chanted “Death to America” in Michigan.
These are the protesters who the legacy media and the Biden administration are suggesting ought to dictate foreign policy in Gaza. The Biden administration is catering to those protesters and their friends.
Why? Why are they catering to the radicals in their own party? It turns out the vast majority of Americans don&#8217;t like any of this. So why exactly are they catering to them?
To understand that, you have to understand the theory of continuous revolution.
Effectively speaking, the Democratic Party, which now represents the Left in the United States, has adopted Chairman Mao’s theory of continuous revolution. That theory is rooted originally in a Marxist revision of Hegelian dialectic.
To really simplify the broad perception of the philosopher Hegel, it’s the basic idea that history progresses through contradiction; you have a thesis and an antithesis (a response to the thesis), and then a synthesis of the two ideas.
That synthesis starts to fall apart and turns into a thesis, an antithesis, and then a synthesis again. So history progresses through contradiction. Hegel meant this descriptively. He would say one country would represent one idea and a second country would represent a second idea. They would go to war and then they would make peace, and out of that would come a new synthesis. For example, out of a 30-Years-War between Catholic countries and Protestant countries would come the Peace of Westphalia.
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels extended that theory into the realm of economics. They suggested that capitalism carried the seeds of its own destruction because capitalism was exploitative of the poor — which is false.
Their theory was that capitalism would impoverish the poor, and then the poor would rise up against capitalism. Capitalism was the thesis, the labor movement was the antithesis, and the synthesis would be socialism and eventually communism. That was the basic idea Marx and Engels put forward.
There&#8217;s one problem: What happens when you&#8217;ve reached the synthesis the Left actually likes? The Hegelian theory would suggest there will be an antithesis that rises and goes to war with the thesis. But if you’re the Left and you’ve won, what do you do now? You&#8217;re stuck.
That was the problem Chairman Mao discovered. He had fostered a communist revolution in China, and then became the boss. He ran the entire country with an iron fist. But according to Hegelian dialectics, there should be a movement that could theoretically threaten him, and from that threat would emerge a new movement.
So what did he do? He posited the theory of continuous revolution. That theory was that the party itself could embody all forms of revolution. There would be new revolutions — thesis, antithesis, and synthesis — but all would happen within the communist party structure. So <a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said</a>, “Opposition and struggle between ideas of different kinds constantly occur within the Party; this is a reflection within the Party of contradictions between classes and between the new and the old in society. If there were no contradictions in the Party and no ideological struggles to resolve them, the Party&#8217;s life would come to an end.”
In other words, the only way to retain absolute power was to encompass everything. The thesis and the antithesis? The party was bigger than both. All of this would happen inside the party, and this is why he encouraged younger members of the party to actually beat older members of the party to death. This is why he encouraged some good communists to kill other good communists during the Cultural Revolution.
What does this mean now? It means that if you are the Left and you wish to retain power, you have to pay continuous homage to the revolutionaries in your own party.
The thesis is Joe Biden. The antithesis is the pro-Hamas protesters, and the synthesis is a policy that effectively hands more power to Hamas.
The thesis is law and order. The antithesis is riots in the major cities. The synthesis is worship of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The thesis is normal environmentalists. The antithesis is Greta Thunberg sitting at a traffic stop and blocking traffic. And the synthesis is going to be a Green New Deal.
That&#8217;s the idea of the Democratic Party. The revolution will constantly be encompassed inside the party, inside the Left-wing movement.
All that is needed to make this happen is a little bit of celebrity cover for the revolution. You just need major politicians or major celebrities to repeat the nostrums of the revolutionaries every so often.
And then you will reach synthesis.

fafa679cf555fdda4a30003cb46dbcad

The Left’s Continuous Revolution And The Worship Of Revolutionaries

Greta Thunberg

Karl Marx

Marxism

Former President Donald Trump shot back at Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Monday after the loyal Trump supporter said he disagreed with the former president&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-releases-long-awaited-abortion-position-says-policies-should-be-left-to-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement on abortion</a>.
Trump said in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112235238031827342" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video statement</a> released Monday morning that he opposes federal limitations on abortion and wants the issue to be decided by each state. The leading presidential candidate added that he &#8220;proudly&#8221; takes responsibility for the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 but said different states will have various laws on abortion. Graham, who has proposed a 15-week federal limit on abortion, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/respectfully-disagree-lindsey-graham-breaks-with-trump-on-abortion-wants-federal-limitation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released his own statement</a>, saying he &#8220;respectfully&#8221; disagrees with the former president.
“I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue. Dobbs does not require that conclusion legally and the pro-life movement has always been about the wellbeing of the unborn child – not geography,” Graham said.
“The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision,” he added. “The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain. I will continue to advocate that there should be a national minimum standard limiting abortion at fifteen weeks because the child is capable of feeling pain, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.&#8221;
Trump fired back at Graham in a <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112237091365034673" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on Truth Social, telling the senator to talk less about abortion and focus on addressing Biden&#8217;s border crisis and &#8220;the millions of people dying in senseless, never-ending Wars that he constantly favors and promotes.&#8221;
&#8220;The Democrats are thrilled with Lindsey, because they want this Issue to simmer for as long a period of time as possible,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;They are destroying our Country, and they don’t want to talk about Inflation, a Bad Economy, the Horrible Open Border, Rigged Elections, Afghanistan, Ukraine/Russia, or the Attack on Israel, all of which would never have happened if I were President. Great job Lindsey!&#8221;
In a follow-up <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112237096470668872" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a>, Trump ripped the South Carolina senator for &#8220;doing a great disservice to the Republican Party.&#8221;
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
&#8220;At first he wanted no Abortions under any circumstances, then he was up to 6 weeks, where you’re allowed Abortion, now he’s up to 15 weeks, where you’re allowed Abortion, but what he doesn’t understand, or perhaps he does, is the Radical Left Democrats, who are destroying our Country, will never approve anything that he or the Republicans want,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;They love this Issue, and they want to keep it going for as long as Republicans will allow them to do so. Terminating Roe v. Wade was, according to all Legal Scholars, a Great Event, but sometimes with Great Events come difficulties. Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency…&#8221;
Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio <a href="https://twitter.com/andrewdesiderio/status/1777451854311358509?s=46&amp;t=z5YS3Gq8Y9sGYCPA7C8RlQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> that Graham responded to Trump&#8217;s criticism later on Monday, telling reporters, “The idea of the Republican Party abandoning the opposition to late-term abortion, I think would be a mistake… If you’re turning the pro-life movement into a geographical movement, I think you’re making a mistake.”
Democrats have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-leaders-push-to-make-abortion-the-pivotal-issue-of-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pushed</a> to make abortion &#8220;the pivotal issue of 2024&#8243; even as immigration and the economy continue to top the list of issues for voters. The party has seen recent success in states like Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Kansas when abortion is on the ballot.
Trump&#8217;s statement on abortion was also criticized by pro-life advocates such as Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America who said her group is “deeply disappointed in President Trump’s position.”
“Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats,&#8221; Dannenfelser added.
Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report. 
This article has been updated to include remarks made by Sen. Graham.

Donald Trump/Lindsey Graham

Trump Hits Back At Graham Over Abortion, Says Dems ‘Are Thrilled With Lindsey Because They Want This Issue To Simmer’

Trump Hits Back At Graham Over Abortion, Says Dems 'Are Thrilled With Lindsey Because They Want This Issue To Simmer'

Lindsey Graham

A state senator in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nebraska" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nebraska</a> announced on Wednesday that he was changing his party affiliation to Republican because the Democratic Party retaliated against him for taking a stand on abortion and transgender issues.
Mike McDonnell, a lawmaker <a href="https://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/landing-pages/index.php?District=5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from Omaha</a> who is term-limited this year after winning elections in 2016 and 2020, made his plans known in a statement <a href="https://central.newschannelnebraska.com/story/50636795/mcdonnell-switches-to-gop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported by News Channel Nebraska</a>.
&#8220;I have asked the Democratic Party to respect my religious based Pro-Life position. Instead over the last year they have decided to punish me for being Pro-Life,&#8221; McDonnell said.
Among the issues he pointed out was the Nebraska Democratic Party censuring McDonnell last month over votes that helped the passage of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/19/politics/nebraska-abortion-gender-affirming-care/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrictions on abortion</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nebraska-becomes-18th-state-to-ban-transgender-surgeries-on-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender surgeries</a> on children.
McDonnell also accused the Douglas County Democrats of taking revenge on him for being &#8220;Pro-Life&#8221; after they <a class="c-link" href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/01/douglas-county-democrats-withdraw-support-from-sen-mike-mcdonnell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/02/01/douglas-county-democrats-withdraw-support-from-sen-mike-mcdonnell/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">moved in February</a> to withdraw support from him in protest of the same votes.
&#8220;Being a Christian a member of the Roman Catholic Church and Pro-Life is more important to me than being a registered Democrat,&#8221; McDonnell said. &#8220;Today I am changing my party affiliation to Republican.&#8221;
Members of both parties reacted to McConnell&#8217;s announcement on Wednesday with statements reported by <a href="https://www.wowt.com/2024/04/03/nebraska-sen-mike-mcdonnell-changes-party-affiliation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local news station WOWT</a>.
&#8220;I am pleased to welcome Senator Mike McDonnell to the Republican Team. The extreme new Democrats are pushing common sense officials and voters to our party,&#8221; said Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
&#8220;The addition of Mike McDonnell to the Republican rolls in the legislature means for the first time in recent memory there is a filibuster proof Republican majority in the Unicameral,&#8221; he added.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1700760801843000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
Nebraska Democratic Party head Jane Kleeb said the organization &#8220;will continue to stand up for reproductive freedom and the human rights of the LGBTQ community&#8221; and claimed the censure was not about him being a &#8220;pro-life Catholic.&#8221;
&#8220;Our decision was based on our party reaffirming our core values to protect women’s ability to make health decisions and to keep politicians out of our personal health decisions,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;We respect the ongoing work of Senator McDonnell on behalf of unions and his commitment to protect a fair electoral vote system we have in our state.&#8221;

The Nebraska State Capitol In Lincoln, Nebraska

‘Pro-Life’ Nebraska Lawmaker Switches To GOP After Revenge Campaign By Fellow Democrats

'Pro-Life' Nebraska Lawmaker Switches To GOP After Revenge Campaign By Fellow Democrats

Nebraska

Transgender

For several years now, Democrats in the state of California have enjoyed all the perks of one-party rule. With supermajorities in the state assembly, they don&#8217;t have to deal with an opposition party. They certainly don&#8217;t need to provide any kind of transparency to the public. They&#8217;re completely free to enact the Democratic Party&#8217;s grand vision — just like the leaders of notorious utopias like Baltimore, Selma, Detroit, or Oakland. If states are the laboratories of democracy, then California is the laboratory of the Democratic Party. Whatever Democrats want, they get.
That&#8217;s why hundreds of thousands of people flee California every year and it&#8217;s why a lot more are about to leave the state. California, without much discussion or debate, just raised its minimum wage for certain fast-food workers to $20 an hour. This is a 25% wage hike, up from $16 an hour. The law applies to chains with 60 or more locations in California, including franchises — many of which are family-owned.
The totally foreseeable and inevitable followed, and a bunch of fast-food chains announced mass layoffs. Others started raising prices, and at least one restaurant so far has closed down completely. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 Lemoore Foster&#039;s Freeze" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mgi_Z-cmNyU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Those employees at Foster&#8217;s Freeze went from $16 an hour to zero dollars an hour, thanks to the minimum wage hike which California declared a &#8220;win for workers.&#8221; And they&#8217;re not alone.
When this law was signed, two large Pizza Hut franchisees <a href="https://www.nrn.com/top-500-restaurants/two-california-pizza-hut-franchisees-lay-delivery-workers-ahead-minimum-wage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">laid off</a> more than 1,200 delivery drivers. In San Jose, The Wall Street Journal reports that two small Vitality Bowls restaurants have <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/california-restaurants-cut-jobs-as-fast-food-wages-set-to-rise-eb5ddaaa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut their workforce</a> in half. Restaurants like Jack in the Box are &#8220;testing fryer robots and automated drink dispensers&#8221; so they can fire more employees soon. Hours are being cut and of course, prices are going up too, across the board. 
The New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/02/us-news/californias-20-fast-food-wage-raises-prices-by-up-to-1-80/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, at one Los Angeles-area Burger King, prices for a Texas Double Whopper went from $15.09 on March 29 to $16.89 on April 1, once the law went into effect. That&#8217;s an increase of nearly $2 for the same exact — already horrifically overpriced — food in just two days. The Big Fish meal went up by $4, from $7.49 to $11.49. That&#8217;s the precise increase in hourly wage, passed directly onto customers. Several other menu items went up &#8220;anywhere from 25 cents to a dollar,&#8221; the Post found. 
From what I’ve seen, some of the advocates of the minimum wage hike on social media have tried to dismiss the concerns over the price hikes by saying that 25 cents to a dollar isn’t a very steep increase. But what they’re ignoring is that, first of all, as a percentage of the overall price of the item, these hikes are already significant. And second, this law has been in effect for less than two days and this is what has happened only in that time frame. We can assume that prices will continue to go up.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1339-the-matt-walsh-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
One of the many fast-food companies raising prices is the fried chicken restaurant Raising Cane&#8217;s. The CEO of the company went on CNBC recently to talk about the impact of this legislation on his business.
Now, based on everything you&#8217;ve just read, you might assume that the CNBC anchor conducting the interview would have a dim view of this new legislation. After all, you&#8217;d expect someone at a business-oriented network to understand that higher prices and fewer jobs are generally a bad thing. But here&#8217;s how she frames her question:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 Raisin Canes" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OpDLVLZAE8w?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The CEO doesn&#8217;t really answer the question, probably because he&#8217;s there for a nice PR opportunity and he doesn&#8217;t get adversarial or maybe he wasn&#8217;t paying attention. But it&#8217;s an incredible question to ask in earnest, which she appears to be doing. If you give minimum wage workers a raise, but in the process make it more expensive for them to live and eat, you have not really given them a raise. You haven&#8217;t made it easier for them to purchase more chicken fingers.
This is especially the case for the many workers who have already lost their jobs because of it, and the many more who will in the near future.
The fact that this is apparently difficult to say out loud — even for the CEO of Raising Cane&#8217;s — tells us a lot about how California got in this position. Very few people in the state seem to understand basic principles of economics — or at least, they don&#8217;t want to talk about them. But the fast food workers themselves understand what&#8217;s going on here. They realize that they didn&#8217;t actually get a raise.
Here’s an employee from Jack in the Box explaining a basic economic reality that the governor of her state doesn’t seem to comprehend:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="001 Minimum Wage Increase" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hjafi_exbb4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
How does a fast-food worker understand the economics of this situation better than the CNBC anchors? Why is she raising issues that California politicians don&#8217;t seem to understand? Whatever the answer is, this is getting to be a running theme in California.
A couple of years ago, California sent out millions of &#8220;inflation relief checks,&#8221; which accomplished <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/30/politics/inflation-relief-checks/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nothing</a> except making inflation even worse. But there was no opposition party that could block those checks, just like there&#8217;s no opposition party to block this minimum wage increase.
In fact, in California, the labor unions <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/california-fast-food-law-panera-newsom-nda/60117858" target="_blank" rel="noopener">obtained</a> nondisclosure agreements during the negotiations for the minimum wage bill. So no one can talk about how exactly this bill came about. There&#8217;s never going to be a full explanation for why Gavin Newsom&#8217;s friend and donor at Panera Bread managed to secure an exemption for fast-food restaurants that make bread, for example. (Not that we really need an explanation for that. It&#8217;s the kind of naked corruption that one-party states are well known for).
But you don&#8217;t need an insider&#8217;s look into the legislative process to know how poorly conceived this law is. That&#8217;s because, after the bill was passed, legislators went back and <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/in-house-counsel/california-airports-stadiums-now-exempted-under-fast-food-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a> a bunch of other exemptions, including fast-food locations in airports and stadiums. That&#8217;s how you know you&#8217;re dealing with a very well-thought-out law — the legislators just go back and redo it a few weeks later. These are the people manipulating the economy in the most populated state in the country. They&#8217;re doing it as haphazardly as you&#8217;d expect.
The truth is that raising the minimum wage (by 25%, which is obviously a very sizable hike) in the midst of inflation and a struggling economy is incredibly stupid. There&#8217;s really no other word for it. It attempts an end-run around the actual problems facing Californians. Except, really, it&#8217;s worse than that. They aren&#8217;t just avoiding the problems, but actively making everything worse. They’re trying to solve problems by creating more of the problems they’re allegedly trying to solve. And they aren’t done. 
In fact, some leaders in California think that $20 an hour is still too low. It’s not even half of what they think the minimum should be. Here’s Rep. Barbara Lee:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="004 CA Senate Race Debate" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UZswdhUXkB4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Just do the math. Do the math, says the woman who apparently can’t add two plus two. She wants to mandate six-figure incomes for the people who run the cash register at McDonald’s. You notice that she was asked about the economic sustainability of such a plan and did not pretend to even address that concern. That’s because it is, of course, not sustainable at all. $20 an hour isn’t even sustainable. $20 an hour has already caused a bloodbath of layoffs and price hikes. $50 an hour would simply be the end of commerce in California, which means the end of California itself. So, on second thought, maybe her plan has some benefits.
But you notice what Lee said in that clip. She said that a family of four needs a six-figure income just to get by. That’s not really true — you can get by on less, my family did at one time — but think about how that applies here. She’s saying that minimum wage workers need a massive, mandatory raise because that’s what’s necessary for families of four to survive. This obviously implies that there are a lot of single-income households of four where the breadwinner makes minimum wage. But that’s not generally the case, and this is really, perhaps, the most important point here. Minimum wage jobs are not meant to be careers. These are supposed to be jobs for teenagers working part-time while they finish high school. These aren’t jobs that grown adults with kids and mortgages are supposed to be doing for years on end. So if you’ve been working at a job for five or ten years and you still make minimum wage, there’s obviously a serious problem — and it’s not one a minimum wage hike can solve.
<h4><a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a></h4>
Personally, I want every minimum wage worker to get a hefty raise. But that can be achieved, and should be achieved, by earning a raise. It can also be achieved by getting some work experience under your belt and then finding a better job somewhere else. Minimum wage is supposed to be a stepping stone. Not a foundation to build your life on.
It’s a bit like if lawmakers passed a law declaring that all tent manufacturers must make their tents big enough and sturdy enough that they can be lived in for six months at a time. But that’s not what tents are supposed to be used for. That’s not what a tent is. A tent is something you stay in for a few days at a time. Now, lawmakers in California might respond, “No that’s not true. In our state lots of people live in tents for years. They set them up right on the sidewalk!” Yes, but the problem there is not that the tents are insufficient homes. The problem is that those people are trying to turn tents into homes. The problem is with how the tent is being used. Minimum wage is like the tent of salaries. It’s meant to be very temporary.
The advantage of working a minimum wage job is that the bar is pretty low. Show up on time, look presentable, put in the effort, be reliable, be moderately competent, cover all the basics, and you’ll be on the fast track to a better job — either at your current place of work or somewhere else. You don’t need to wait around for the government to force your employer to give you a raise.
As I’ve said plenty of times before, the best way for a minimum wage worker to make more money is to not be a minimum wage worker anymore. That’s a basic truth that you won’t hear from politicians like Barbara Lee. Instead they’ll promise you the pie in the sky. The bad news is that they probably won’t deliver on that promise.
The worse news is that they might. And then everyone’s problems will get much worse.

California Minimum Wage Rises To $20 For Fast Food Workers

California Triggers Bloodbath By Raising Minimum Wage To $20 An Hour

Food

Minimum Wage

Restaurant

Wisconsin&#8217;s Democratic governor on Tuesday vetoed a ban on trans-identifying male high school athletes competing on girls&#8217; teams.
Governor Tony Evers (D) had previously promised that he would veto the bill, which requires trans-identifying high school students to play on sports teams that align with their biological sex.
“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because I object to codifying discrimination into state statute,” Evers <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/WIGOV/2024/04/02/file_attachments/2833681/Signed%20Veto%20Message%20-%20AB%20377.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement accompanying his veto.
“This type of legislation, and the harmful rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our LGBTQ kids,” the governor said.
The bill had passed the Republican-controlled legislature last month. However, neither the state Assembly nor the state Senate  has the two-thirds majority that would override a veto.
Evers said he would continue &#8220;using every power available&#8221; to defend LGBTQ children.
He added a dig at the legislature&#8217;s Republican majority.
“We expect our kids to treat each other with kindness, respect, empathy, and compassion, and we should be able to expect adults to lead by example,” said Evers. “I urge the Republican majority to do so while fully considering the harmful consequences its efforts and actions have on our kids prior to introducing similar legislation in the future.”
Republicans argued that women need separate sports teams in order to keep competition fair.
&#8220;Men have major physical advantages. They&#8217;re bigger, they&#8217;re stronger, they&#8217;re faster,&#8221; state Representative Joel Kitchens, a Republican <a href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/02/tony-evers-vetoes-wisconsin-bill-aimed-at-trans-non-binary-athletes/73177911007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> last year when the bill was under consideration.
&#8220;Title IX was created so that women can have the same access to the same advantages, the same character building that takes place [in sports] that men always have experienced,&#8221; Kitchens said.
At least 24 states have laws <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/lgbtq/4569947-wisconsin-veto-transgender-athlete-ban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banning</a> trans-identifying athletes from competing on school sports teams of the opposite sex.
The Biden administration is currently <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wisconsin-governor-vetoes-transgender-high-school-athletics-ban-108750696" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working</a> on a rule to prohibit such state bans applying to trans-identifying athletes.
At least 24 states have also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sacramento-declares-itself-sanctuary-city-for-trans-identifying-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned</a> transgender medical services for children such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries like double mastectomies and genital surgeries.
In recent years, several high-profile female athletes have spoken out about issues with men in women&#8217;s sports.
Some have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/injured-high-school-volleyball-player-reacts-to-congresswoman-saying-trans-identifying-males-dont-hurt-anyone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that men&#8217;s physical advantages over women cause women&#8217;s sports careers to suffer and in some cases cause them to get physically injured.
Others have criticized trans-identifying male players being allowed in women&#8217;s bathrooms and locker rooms before and after sporting events.

Rear view of small girl standing with ball indoors in gym class, physical education concept.

Wisconsin’s Democrat Governor Vetoes Ban On Trans-Identifying Males In Girls’ Sports

Wisconsin's Democrat Governor Vetoes Ban On Trans-Identifying Males In Girls' Sports

Menu