Politics

Lately, drag has been dragged through the mud.The art form has been cast in a false light in recent months by right-wing activists and politicians who complain about the “sexualization” or “grooming” of children. Opponents often coordinate protests at drag events that feature or cater to children, sometimes showing up with guns. Some politicians have proposed banning children from drag events and even criminally charging parents who take their kids to one.Performers and organizers of events, such as story hours in which colorfully clad drag queens read books to children, say the protesters are the ones terrorizing and harming children and making them political pawns — just as they’ve done in other campaigns around bathroom access and educational materials.The recent headlines about disr...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a stalwart Senate ally of former President Trump, is facing fresh uncertainty in his race for reelection after telling a podcast last week that Social Security and Medicare should be classified as discretionary spending, with Congress authorized to set their budgets every year.    Johnson had been cruising to reelection in a favorable political climate for Republicans, who expected to take control of the House and possibly the Senate as well.    But now Johnson is on the defensive as Democrats have political ammo to claim that he wants to cut the two popular entitlement programs, a strategy they used effectively against Republicans in the past.    Johnson has landed in hot water before for making provocative comments on conservative media, m...

People often ask me how things have changed at California’s Capitol over the last 60 years. One answer: Politics today is a lot more knee-jerk partisan. A striking example is abortion. That’s true of many issues. More legislators used to think for themselves and not be so subservient to party dogma. Now, abortion is again front and center after news broke last month that the U.S. Supreme Court was on the verge of overturning Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized pregnancy terminations nationwide. In Sacramento, there has been political gameplaying by Democrats and rote partisan voting by both parties. That’s in stark contrast to 55 years ago this month when the Democratic-controlled Legislature narrowly passed and new Republican Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the nation’s most libera...

INDIANAPOLIS—Incumbent Secretary of State Holli Sullivan was defeated Saturday afternoon in a vote by Indiana State Republican Party convention delegates who gave a majority to challenger Diego Morales on the second ballot.Sullivan, a former state representative who was appointed to the office in 2021 after the resignation of Connie Lawson, received 561 votes to Morales' 847, which gave the challenger a majority of the convention votes needed for nomination. Morales will face Democrat Destiny Wells, who was nominated without opposition Saturday in Indiana Democrats' state convention, and Libertarian Jeff Maurer in the November election.The Republican conven...