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South Dakota Governor Vetoes Anti-Transgender “Bathroom Bill”

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard

Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota has vetoed House Bill 1008, which would have made South Dakota the first state to ban transgender students from using school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

“Thank you Governor Daugaard for meeting with transgender people to see through their eyes that they are our friends, family, and neighbors, worthy of the same fair treatment and dignity as everyone else,” said Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation. “The more people get to know about the real lives of transgender people, the more empathy prevails. All students, including transgender students, should be able to fully participate and have a fair opportunity to thrive in school.”

The state legislature could vote to overturn Daugaard’s veto. But, at least for now, the votes are lacking in the state Senate which voted in favor of the bill 20-15, which falls short of the necessary two-thirds threshold.

Congrats South Dakota! And thank you, Gov. Daugaard.

UPDATE: It looks like the bill’s sponsor doesn’t want to do a veto fight. From Rep. Fred Deutsch’s response:

“HB 1008 was intended to be a practical solution to our evolving social values on gender issues. Unfortunately emotions on both sides of this issue have dominated the news coverage and the recent debate. I still believe an objective reading of the proposed law is consistent with my intent to be non-discriminatory and fair to all students and parents.

However, because I think the national focus on South Dakota should be on our positive business environment, strong labor market and the excellent work our schools do, I am going to ask my legislative colleagues to concur with the Governor’s veto. Further focus on this issue will detract from the other significant accomplishments of the legislature this session.”

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Samantha Bee On “The Most Important Election Of A Lifetime”

As every presidential candidate announces in strong, stentorian tones that this election is the “most important election” ever, ever, ever – Samantha Bee points to the rather snooze-worthy 2010 mid-term elections.

“The year was 2010. Kesha’s brave cry for help was at the top of dance charts. The man-made disaster spewing toxic foulness wasn’t Donald Trump, but Deepwater Horizon. And, oh yeah, there was an election. Just one of those boring midterm ones that will.i.am. does not make videos about. And just like with our college midterms, most of America thought it was fine to sleep through this one.”

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Gallup Poll: Hillary Clinton’s Net Favorable Approval Surpasses Bernie Sanders

Gallup Polling reports Hillary Clinton's Net Favorable Approval Rating has surpassed Sen. Bernie Sanders by 11 points

Good news for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as Gallup reports her Favorable score has not only surged in just the past few weeks, but surpassed her opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders by 11 points.

Clinton’s net favorable score stands at +55 for the week of Feb. 18-24, 2016, a 10-percentage-point increase from her low point recorded over Jan. 27-Feb.10. This latter time period overlapped with her landslide loss to Sanders in the New Hampshire primary.

Sanders’ net favorable over the past week, by contrast, stands at +44, well below Clinton’s score and a steep fall from the +57 he boasted in late January/early February.

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New CNN/ORC Poll Shows Both Democratic Candidates Beat Donald Trump

New polling from CNN/ORC shows both Democratic candidates for president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton & Sen. Bernie Sanders, would beat current Republican front-runner Donald Trump.

From CNN:

In the scenario that appears most likely to emerge from the primary contests, Clinton tops Trump 52% to 44% among registered voters. That result has tilted in Clinton’s favor since the last CNN/ORC Poll on the match-up in January.

But when the former secretary of state faces off with either of the other two top Republicans, things are much tighter and roughly the same as they were in January. Clinton trails against Rubio, with 50% choosing the Florida senator compared to 47% for Clinton, identical to the results in January. Against Cruz, Clinton holds 48% to his 49%, a slight tightening from a 3-point race in January to a 1-point match-up now.

Sanders — who enjoys the most positive favorable rating of any presidential candidate in the field, according to the poll — tops all three Republicans by wide margins: 57% to 40% against Cruz, 55% to 43% against Trump, and 53% to 45% against Rubio. Sanders fares better than Clinton in each match-up among men, younger voters and independents.

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Fox News’ Todd Starnes Asks Evangelical Christians If They Will Vote For Donald Trump

Fox News’ Todd Starnes is running a Twitter poll today asking Evangelical Christians if they plan on voting for Donald Trump in the general election IF he becomes the GOP nominee.

At the time of this writing the poll shows 38% would NOT vote for The Donald.

This correlates with professional polls showing a similar result. Losing almost 40% of your political base would be catastrophic for a political party.

But great for Democrats 🙂

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Ted Cruz’ Supporters Say They Can’t Vote For Trump

Sen. Ted Cruz

The Daily Beast interviewed several supporters of Sen. Ted Cruz who insist they can’t see themselves voting for Donald Trump in the general election, should he become the Republican nominee.

“There is so much garbage out there about Trump,” 81-year-old Betty Marquardt told The Daily Beast. “If it would only come out, I think Trump would be sort of scary. He’ll say one thing and then he’ll say something else. He’s not even sure how many years he’s been audited. It depends on where he is as to what he wants to say and how he wants to say it.”

Marquardt, who like many Cruz supporters at the event said their second choice would be Marco Rubio before this reporter was even able to finish asking the question, called Trump “childish” and said he calls people names too much.

Cruz fans painted a picture of Trump as manipulative, phony, and opportunistic, none of which inspire confidence in scary times.

“I think he’s a good actor and knows how to work the deal, pardon the pun,” Sathre said.

“I just don’t think he has morals,” 37-year-old Christine Stevens told The Daily Beast. She has already made a decision in the foreseeable general-election matchup.

“Honestly I would rather see Hillary Clinton in than Donald Trump.”

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Lady Gaga & Elton John Team Up On “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”

Before Lady Gaga’s heart-stopping performance of her Best Song nominated “Til It Happens To You,” Lady Gaga joined music legend (and Oscar winner) Sir Elton John for a rousing rendition of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” on Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood.

The event was a ‘thank you’ to the city of West Hollywood for hosting Elton’s annual Academy Awards viewing party.

From Rolling Stone:

“The City of West Hollywood has welcomed the Elton John AIDS Foundation and our annual Academy Awards Viewing Party with open arms for many years, providing us with the perfect environment to host a really fun and special evening,” John said in a statement prior to the concert. “We are profoundly grateful for their generous support, so I wanted to do something special just for them by giving our West Hollywood fans and supporters a surprise concert. Thank you, West Hollywood!”