Latest news with #MittRomney
Wall Street Journal
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Planned Parenthood Is People, My Friend
Planned Parenthood won a preliminary injunction Monday halting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's provision aimed at depriving the self-described 'sexual and reproductive health care' outfit of federal money. Its lawsuit reminded me of Mitt Romney. In August 2011, the future Republican presidential nominee drew mockery for saying, 'Corporations are people, my friend.' Mr. Romney was making a point about economics. After he said he didn't want to raise taxes on people, an Iowa State Fair heckler shouted: 'Corporations!' Mr. Romney explained: 'Everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people.' The Obama campaign used the remark 'to paint Romney as a heartless corporate predator,' as the Harvard Business Review put it. It didn't help that Mr. Romney's comment echoed Charlton Heston's famous last words in the 1973 film 'Soylent Green' about his discovery that the processed food was made of human remains. The comment came at a time when the Democratic left was outraged about legal corporate personhood—specifically Citizens United v. FEC (2010), a Supreme Court decision that affirmed corporations' right to engage in political speech. In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens denounced 'the conceit that corporations must be treated identically to natural persons'—legalese for individual human beings—'in the political sphere.' Which brings us back to Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc. v. Kennedy. The corporate plaintiffs fully embrace that 'conceit.' They allege that the defunding measure violates their freedom of speech by punishing their advocacy of 'access to sexual and reproductive health care, including the right to safe and legal abortion.' They also claim violations of their rights to free association under the First Amendment and equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-Trump extends his political power with 'big, beautiful' win in Congress
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -As U.S. President Donald Trump worked to pass his signature spending bill, he blended charm and threats, bestowed gifts and bellowed frustration to bend Congress to his will. In the end, after days of intense behind-the-scenes pressure from the White House, Congress proved no match for a president at the peak of his power. Trump secured the biggest legislative victory of his second term in office on Thursday when the House of Representatives passed his sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, sending it to the Republican president for his signature by his dictated deadline of Friday's Independence Day holiday. The measure will give Trump billions of dollars and new legal avenues to press forward with his domestic agenda, ramping up migrant deportations and cutting taxes while rolling back health benefits and food assistance. One-by-one, major U.S. institutions from the Supreme Court, law firms, universities, media outlets and beyond have given way for Trump to push the bounds of presidential authority in his first five months in office. With its narrow passage of Trump's self-styled "big, beautiful bill," Congress, too, delivered the president a victory that will further extend his power. "There's no question that it's a capstone to what has been a very strong last few weeks for President Trump,' said Lanhee Chen, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, a think tank, and a former adviser to Republicans Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio. In acceding to Trump's wishes, Republican lawmakers pushed past their non-partisan budget office and Senate parliamentarian, mega-donor Elon Musk, bond market fears about U.S. debt and their personal doubts about whether the bill's benefit cuts could shorten their constituents' lives or their own political futures. Nonpartisan forecasters say the legislation will add $3.4 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt, a prediction many Republicans contend overlooks future economic growth from business tax cuts. The bill isn't popular with many Americans: 49% oppose the legislation, while only 29% favor it, according to recent polling by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Pew said majorities expressed concern that the legislation would raise the budget deficit and hurt lower-income people while benefiting the wealthy. The White House disputed the polling data, insisting that internal polls across the country had found great support for many specific provisions of the law. Republican voters do want Trump to rule with little interference from lawmakers. Some 64% of Republicans polled by Reuters/Ipsos in June agreed with a statement that the country needs a strong president who can rule without too much interference from Congress or the courts. Only 13% of Democrats agreed. "It's the rare piece of legislation that can both at the same time be a big victory for one side but also present some political traps for that same victorious side," Chen said. GIFTS, GOLF AND GOADING Trump spent recent days wooing small groups of Republican lawmakers from the Senate and House who stopped by the Oval Office or his Sterling, Virginia, golf course. He handed out branded merchandise and encouraged them not to give Democrats the satisfaction of handing Trump a major defeat, according to people familiar with the outreach. He vented frustration, privately and then publicly, at the idea that Republicans might break ranks. 'FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE,' Trump posted on Truth Social after midnight Thursday as the bill struggled to gain sufficient votes to clear a procedural hurdle. 'RIDICULOUS!!!' A senior White House official told reporters after the final vote on Thursday that Trump was deeply involved in the production of the legislation, going over it line-by-line with senior advisers including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and working through "endless" late-night phone calls with members of Congress. Trump started working the phones at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday in the run-up to the vote, leveraging relationships built during dinners and engagements at the White House and at his Florida estate in Palm Beach, the official said. Ultimately, only two House Republicans ended up joining Democrats to vote against the bill. Hyma Moore, a Democratic strategist, said Trump will pay little long-term political price for pushing an unpopular bill because he is a term-limited president. Republicans seeking future office may have to deal with the consequences, however. Deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance along with growing U.S. government debt are certain to figure in the 2026 midterm elections, when Democrats hope to take advantage of the longstanding tendency of voters to hand the opposition party more control of Congress. Two Republicans, Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska and Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have already announced their retirements in recent days after clashing with Trump, potentially giving Democrats an easier path to pick up those seats. "He's a lame duck, there's not much of a price he can pay at this point,' Moore said of Trump. 'Next step is more GOP (Republican) in-fighting as the primaries shape up.' While Republican lawmakers in tough districts fight to keep their jobs, the bill they just passed will empower Trump to govern as freely as ever.
Fox News
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Pork chop on a stick, bacon-wrapped Twinkie and other odd foods dominate iconic state fair
Over a million Americans are expected to attend the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this summer, a beloved tradition that draws food enthusiasts from all over the country. The fair hit an all-time record of 1,182,682 attendants in 2024, its highest guest count since 1.17 million fairgoers attended in 2019. The event attracts not only everyday enthusiasts but also politicians seeking to appeal to heartland Americans. President Donald Trump on Thursday is scheduled to join thousands of fairgoers in experiencing the event's unique atmosphere and culinary offerings. He's slated to deliver remarks at 7:30 p.m. local time. As always, the state fair promises a variety of food offerings that range from classic favorites to the downright unusual. Here's a look at some fair favorites. Perhaps the most symbolic dish at the Iowa State Fair is the famed Pork Chop on a Stick. Countless politicians have been observed eating the entrée, including Trump, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. The dish is a French-cut rib pork chop that weighs 9 to 11 ounces, according to the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). "This is a rib pork chop with the rib bone left on, so that it can work as a handle or 'stick,'" the association's website notes. "You eat the Pork Chop on a Stick with your hands and a napkin – no utensils." Although it's one of the most popular dishes at the fair, it wasn't always so. The Pork Chop on a Stick got a chilly reception when it debuted in 1999, according to the IPPA. "We almost had to beg people to buy them the first year," Dave Moody, a pig farmer and longtime fair volunteer, told the IPPA. Moody added, "I think we sold around 6,000 that year." Another legendary dish at the fair is the Pork Tenderloin Sandwich. The meal consists of a deep-fried pork tenderloin which is placed between two buns with regular hamburger fixings: onions, pickles and tomatoes. The meat cutlet is often larger than the bun, leading to its distinctive appearance. The appearance of the tenderloin has been likened to Weiner schnitzel and chicken-fried steak. The dish may appear unusual to non-Midwesterners — but the sandwich is popular in Iowa, Nebraska and Indiana. Pecan Pie on a Stick is a decadent dessert that's only offered at the Iowa State Fair. The dish is made with a homemade pecan-filled pie crust, which is then dipped in a chocolate caramel mixture. As a final touch, the pie is rolled in extra pecans and bacon. The dessert is available at The Bacon Box's stand. The dish is described as a combination of sweet and salty flavors. "Each piece is dipped in caramel sauce and topped with bacon & pecans to make sure every bite is full of sweet, sweet, salty goodness," The Bacon Box's website reads. The pie sells for $6, according to the website. Deep-Fried Avocado Slices are one of the very few vegetarian options available at the fair. The dish features avocado slices that are breaded and deep-fried until golden brown. As far as deep-fried snacks go, the avocados are on the healthier side, as the fruit has been found to reduce the risk of diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. The snacks are sold at The Veggie Table, a vegetarian vendor. One of the fair's meatiest dishes is Berkshire Bacon Balls, sold by The Bacon Box. The dish consists of a quarter-pound pork meatball, stuffed with cheese and bacon. The meatball, which is served on a stick, is then wrapped with two pieces of bacon before being smoked and dipped in barbecue sauce. The dish is named after Berkshire Kurobuta pork, known for its distinct flavor and richness. One of the newer dishes at the Iowa State Fair is called the Iowa Twinkie. And it's not as sweet as its name suggests. The savory treat is served at Watcha Smokin' BBQ & Brew's stand. It was introduced in 2023. The flavor-packed fare is made by stuffing a jalapeño pepper with pulled pork. The filling also includes sweet corn and cream cheese. As a final touch, the Iowa Twinkie is wrapped in bacon and seasoned with ranch and chives.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Don't be fooled, Idaho. GOP's working-class rebranding is nonsense
In the last decade or so, the Republican Party has attempted to rebrand itself. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan campaigned on cutting taxes, especially on the rich, and balancing the budget by slashing entitlements. It was time for the makers to get their due, and for the takers to get put in their place. This proved to be a horribly unpopular platform, which sent President Barack Obama back for a second term. Now the party has been taken over by President Donald Trump, who all but banished Romney and Ryan from the party and claimed he would set a course of reviving American manufacturing jobs. Trump picked 'Hillbilly Elegy' author J.D. Vance as his vice president, proof that he was embracing a departure from the GOP's old embrace of the rich, in favor of a white working class that had been culturally marginalized — Vance's Yale law degree notwithstanding. 'The image of the Republicans as the party of the Scrooge-like CEO, the basis of Obama's 2012 campaign against Mitt Romney, has been defanged by Trump, the self-styled billionaire who benefited from a rigged system and convinced his voters that only he could un-rig it on their behalf,' Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini wrote in 2023. How's the unrigging going? Don't trust what people — especially politicians — say. Believe what they do. As a recent report from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy makes clear, the sum of the last five years of a steady rightward shift in the Idaho Legislature has been massive tax cuts benefiting mainly the rich, coupled with waning support for programs that help the poor and middle class. Middle-class Idaho families have been left out. If the Legislature doesn't act before the end of next legislative session, taxes will rise on many Idaho families with children. Those families who make between about $56,00 and $146,000 will see their taxes rise, as the 2018 child tax credit will sunset at the end of this year. The end result, the report notes, will be that middle-class Idaho families wind up with a net tax increase. So too will the very poorest Idahoans. Refusing the obvious, and wildly popular, option of eliminating the sales tax on groceries, lawmakers opted to increase the grocery tax credit. One consequence of this decision is that there will be no benefit for people who don't file income taxes, overwhelmingly very poor people. They continue to pay the full sales tax on food, with no access to the tax credit. Meanwhile, owners of physical gold bricks and coins will pay no capital gains tax on those assets — a specialized giveaway contained in House Bill 40, which also slashed income taxes for the richest people in Idaho. It will be a good year for Scrooge McDuck. Not so much for Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. In the Idaho GOP's rebuilt tax code, if you are poor — if your family has to survive on less than $31,000 per year — you can expect to pay more than 9% of your income in state taxes. But if your family makes more than $738,000, you'll pay about 6%. These are the policy changes Idaho lawmakers passed as they first tried to end Medicaid expansion, and when that was blocked in the Senate, sought to implement work requirements that, if approved by the feds, are expected to result in tens of thousands of working Idahoans losing their health insurance — because it's one thing to work, but another thing to repeatedly file all the paperwork to prove to a bureaucracy that you work. This is a precise mirror of federal policy under unified Republican control of government. Idaho's delegation has unanimously supported extending massive tax cuts that disproportionately help the rich, exploding the federal debt and, at the same time, ensuring that there will be more hungry children by cutting food aid and more people dying from lack of healthcare by slashing Medicaid. The GOP has shown you what the core priority is: Soak the poor. The current incarnation of the Republican Party has not transfigured itself into the party of the working class. Neither is it the party of fiscal responsibility. It is the party that transfers wealth from the poor to the rich. Statesman editorials are the opinion of the Idaho Statesman's editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Greg Lanting, Terri Schorzman and Garry Wenske.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mitt Romney, Gov. Cox, other Utah leaders post messages after Biden cancer diagnosis
Several former and current Utah political leaders posted messages to former President Joe Biden after he announced he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. According to a statement released by Biden's office, 'Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.' Former Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who left the Senate at the end of 2024, offered prayers to the former president, who he worked closely with during his time in office. 'Thinking of President Biden and his family. Ann and I send our prayers for healing,' he said in a social media post. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also expressed his best wishes to Biden. 'Cancer sucks. My family and I will be joining Americans everywhere in praying for President Biden's continued health and recovery,' he said on X. Utah Sen. Mike Lee wrote, 'Sad news — President Biden has cancer,' above a post on X announcing the news. Utah Sen. John Curtis wished the former president a 'full recovery.' 'I'm wishing President Biden strength and a full recovery as he begins his fight against cancer. This is a difficult diagnosis for anyone, and I join many Americans in hoping for healing and peace in the days ahead,' he said in a social media post. President Donald Trump also responded to the news, writing, 'Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis. We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.'
