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☆ Revisiting Florida 2000 and the Butterfly Effect
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Nate Cohn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Joe Lieberman and the butterfly ballotJoe Lieberman, the former Democratic senator, died this week at 82. He was Al Gore’s vice-presidential nominee in 2000, when the Gore-Lieberman ticket came less than 600 Florida votes away from winning the White House. But I don’t think it’s always appreciated that we probably do know that Mr. Gore would have won Florida, and therefore the presidency, if it weren’t for the infamous “butterfly ballot” in Palm Beach County. If you don’t remember — it has been a while — the butterfly ballot was very unusual. Candidates were listed on both sides of the ballot, and voters cast a ballot by punching a corresponding hole in the middle.

Persons: We’re, Donald J, Trump, Joe Lieberman, Al Gore’s, Gore, Lieberman, We’ll, it’s, George W, Bush, Pat Buchanan Organizations: Democratic, White, Reform Party Locations: Florida, Palm Beach County

LONDON (AP) — Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years. Labour Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour's Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s center, results announced Friday showed. The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday's special elections. The hard-right Reform party — formerly known as the Brexit Party — came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives. The Conservatives pointed to the low turnout — less than 40% of eligible voters cast ballots — as a sign British electors are not enthusiastic about Labour.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Damien Egan, Kitchen, —, Brexit Party —, Keir Starmer, Chris Skidmore, Peter Bone, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Boris Johnson, John Curtice, ” “, ” Organizations: —, Labour Party, Wellingborough, Conservatives, Brexit Party, Labour, Conservative, European Union, University of Strathclyde, BBC Locations: England, Kingswood, Wellingborough

☆ Dutch candidates snipe, scramble for undecided voters in race to deliver PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Major issues for Dutch voters include how to respond to climate change, the rising cost of living, and a desire to restrict immigration. Analysts said that with large numbers of undecided voters, much will depend on debate performances, including a final clash scheduled for Tuesday night. Yesilgoz, who had not ruled out a coalition with Wilders and had focused on Timmermans as her main opponent, has begun backtracking. On Tuesday she ruled out serving in a cabinet in which Wilders is prime minister. The party that wins the most seats traditionally takes a lead in negotiations and provides the prime minister -- but that is not guaranteed under the Dutch system.

Persons: Frans Timmermans, Geert Wilders, Wilders, Dilan Yesilgoz, Mark Rutte's, Yesilgoz, Timmermans, Rutte, Geert Wilders you'll, Toby Sterling, William Maclean Organizations: Party, Labour, Green Left, Research, Timmermans, Freedom Party, New, Analysts, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Netherlands

☆ Why Trump Seems Less Vulnerable on Abortion Than Other Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ruth Igielnik | More About Ruth Igielnik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Voters who want abortion to be “mostly legal” are about twice as likely to say they are making voting decisions based on economic issues over social issues like abortion. The share of voters who prioritize economic issues over social issues has increased by more than 12 percentage points in favor of the economy since the 2022 election, according to Times polling in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona. Still, he says he plans to vote for Mr. Trump again because of his economic policies and concerns about the Biden administration’s foreign policy. Mr. Trump has been on many sides of the abortion issue over the years. Recently, he took full credit on his social media platform for being the one who ended the constitutional right to abortion in America: “I was able to kill Roe v. Wade.”

Persons: Joel Graham, it’s, Trump, ”, Roe, Wade Organizations: Supreme, Mr, Biden, Reform Party Locations: Ohio, Pennsylvania , Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Grant County, Wis, America

☆ Thailand’s Royal Establishment Is Denying the Will of the People Again - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Pavin Chachavalpongpun | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For a brief time this summer, it seemed like Thailand might finally be on the cusp of truly representative government. In elections in May, a pro-reform party won the largest share of votes, riding a wave of public discontent over nine years of military rule and the outsize prerogatives enjoyed by the Thai royal family. Thailand’s monarchy is one of the wealthiest and longest-reigning in the world. Backed by the military and the judiciary, it is the linchpin of a conservative establishment that has fought off challenges to its dominance for decades, often with royally-endorsed military coups that overthrew democratically elected governments. More than two months after the elections, Thailand still does not have its new government, as the conservative establishment maneuvers to deny the will of the people once again by frustrating Move Forward’s efforts to form a coalition.

Organizations: Party, Voters Locations: Thailand

☆ Chau Van Kham: Australian retiree accused of terrorism freed from prison in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Acting Australian Prime Minister Richard Marles said Chau Van Kham was released on humanitarian grounds and “in the spirit of friendship” between Australia and Vietnam. The Vietnamese government declared the California-based Viet Tan, or Vietnam Reform Party, a terrorist organization in 2016, accusing it of recruiting and training armed operatives. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese traveled to Vietnam last month to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. “We share the happy news that Mr Chau Van Kham is well and has returned to his family today,” the statement said, according to Amnesty. Pearson said Kham was one of more than 150 political prisoners detained in Vietnam for peaceful acts of free expression.

Persons: Australia CNN —, Richard Marles, ” Marles, Viet Tan, Tan, it’s, Anthony Albanese, Kham’s, Dan Nguyen, Chau, “, ” Elaine Pearson, Pearson, Kham, Pham Doan Trang, Mai Phan, Dang Dinh Bach, Hoang, Hong, ” Pearson Organizations: Australia CNN, Australian, Amnesty International, Amnesty, Vietnam Reform Party, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Human Rights Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Sydney, Vietnam, California, United States, Asia

[1/2] Protesters hold placards depicting French President Emmanuel Macron during a demonstration as part of the 12th day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform, in Paris, France, April 13, 2023. It would also need to find its way through parliament, where Macron has lost his working majority and debate has become increasingly fractious. The conservative Les Republicains' (LR) party, which the government had hoped it would be able to count on for support, has emerged deeply divided from the pension reform saga. "There are gaping wounds in the country," LR lawmaker Aurélien Pradié, who rebelled against the pro-pension reform party line on the reform, said on Twitter. So while the pension reform is on the statute books, Macron has much political capital still to regain.

☆ Estonia PM focused on defence spending and same sex marriage law
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas speaks to the media as she attends the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna GeronTALLINN, April 12 (Reuters) - Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she was focused on her next term as Estonian prime minister despite media speculation she could be in the running to lead NATO, with plans including legalising same sex marriage and increasing defence spending. Taxes will be raised to fund the spending in a time of economic contraction, Kallas has said. The new government will also legislate same sex marriage equality "as fast as possible", Kallas said, becoming the first Central European country to do so. I'm the prime minister of Estonia, and I try to solve all the problems that we have here."

☆ Estonia’s Premier Wins Second Term After Pro-Ukraine Campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Drew Hinshaw | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has argued that should Ukraine lose the war, Moscow would pivot to her country next. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas , one of Ukraine’s staunchest backers among Western leaders, was re-elected on Sunday, handily defeating an opposition that had questioned her government’s arms deliveries to Ukraine and signaling continuing support for Kyiv in Europe’s east. The center-right leader’s Reform Party was set to hold 37 seats in the Baltic country’s Parliament, three more than it secured in the last election four years ago, according to results published Monday by the Estonian National Electoral Committee. Her principal opponents, the more right-wing Conservative People’s Party, took just 17 of the chamber’s 101 seats, two fewer than it previously controlled.

☆ Estonia goes to polls in a test for pro-Kyiv government
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

If, as opinion polls predict, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas' liberal Reform party wins the election and successfully crafts a coalition it would cement the Baltic nation's pro-European direction. Estonia would also stay on course to adopt more green energy and continue to accept refugees from Ukraine. The polls close at 20.00 local time (18.00 GMT), with most electoral districts expected to report their tallies by midnight. Kallas and EKRE leader Martin Helme both told Reuters this week they hope to lead the next coalition government. "People are really scared about the future, and the main parties, especially the governing parties, have no real answers," he added.

☆ Egypt's net foreign reserves rise to $34.4 bln in Feb -cenbank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Estonia's ruling Reform party in the lead as 92% of parliament votes counted, article with imageEurope category · March 5, 2023 · 9:27 PM UTC · undefined ago · undefined agoEstonia's ruling liberal Reform party is leading Sunday's vote for parliament with 32.0% support as 92.4% of ballots have been counted, data from the national election authority showed.

☆ Ron DeSantis backed deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare while in Congress. Trump is ready to hammer him for it ahead of 2024.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Trump has made it clear that he will attack DeSantis' past support for changes to Social Security and Medicare. It would have also increased the full retirement age for Social Security to 70 as well. The AARP tore into Ryan's proposal at the time, particularly for its proposed changes to social security. Trump has made it clear that he would not propose cuts to Social Security and Medicare and is ready to attack 2024 nomination challengers who have in the past. Insider couldn't find any comments he made at the time, but he was far from the only Republican or even the only Florida Republican to vote against the bill.

☆ Trump once again stirs rumors that he could run as a third-party candidate and split the Republican vote if party turns on him
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Donald Trump shared an article calling on him to abandon Republican Party if it doesn't back him in 2024. The article said Trump could run as a third-party candidate, a move that would split the GOP vote. Trump is facing rising opposition to his 2024 bid from some quarters of the Republican Party. It is a move that would split the Republican Party vote and likely doom the party's 2024 ambitions. He said that a Trump third-party candidacy could have a similar result, but that a Republican loss would teach the "corrupt gravy-train" a lesson.

Trump's Save America PAC released a photo showing the former president meeting with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on January 28. It added: "President Trump will always and forever be a champion for the American People." Millions of Trump supporters would likely follow Trump to a new political party — if he chose to break away from the Republican Party. Afterward, McCarthy predicted intraparty peace, saying in a statement: "President Trump committed to helping elect Republicans in the House and Senate in 2022." "President Trump has agreed to work with Leader McCarthy on helping the Republican Party to become a majority in the House."

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