A new poll shows a major shift in the California governor’s race after former Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was once a frontrunner, dropped out of the election following several allegations of sexual misconduct.
Emerson College conducted the poll right after Swalwell exited the race and Donald Trump endorsed Republicans billionaire Steve Hilton.
(screen capture from the acclaimed film Poppy Field) Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: South Carolina Democratic Rep. Cezar McKnight is facing ire from his fellow party members for introducing a new anti-trans bill that would make it a felony for doctors to prescribe life-saving hormone therapy for transgender youth. McKnight is joined in supporting the bill by 23 fellow lawmakers, all Republicans. • JoeMyGod: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says he “would talk ’til I fell over to make sure that the Equality Act doesn’t become law.” Methinks the lady doth protest too much. • Stonewall Gazette: The film Poppy Field (top image) follows the struggle of a young Romanian police officer, Cristi (Conrad Mericoffer), who tries to find balance between being a working man in a macho hierarchical environment and that of being a closeted gay person trying to keep his personal life a secret.
• NBC News: President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Asian American community leaders during a scheduled visit to Georgia on Friday in the wake of the spa shootings in Atlanta that left eight people dead, six of whom were women of Asian descent. • KATC: A federal grand jury in Lafayette returned a six-count indictment charging Chance J. Seneca, 19, of Lafayette, with hate crime, kidnapping, firearm, and obstruction charges based on his attempted murder of a gay man and his overarching scheme to kidnap and murder gay men whom he met online. • CNN: Xavier Becerra was confirmed by the Senate as the first Latino Health and Human Services secretary on Thursday. The vote was 50 to 49. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was the only Republican to vote yes – Democrat Mazie Hirono was absent.
You voted to confirm Betsy DeVos and Ben Carson, neither of whom had ANY relevant experience.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (image via Twitter) A group of 11 Senate Republicans have publicly announced their opposition to President Biden’s nominee for Health Secretary Xavier Bacerra, California’s attorney general. From The Hill:
Eleven Senate Republicans announced their opposition to President Biden’s nominee for health secretary ahead of his confirmation hearings before two committees this week.
The senators, led by Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), urged Biden in a letter to withdraw the nomination of Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, arguing he is unqualified to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The senators wrote that Becerra has “no meaningful experience in health care, public health, large-scale logistics, or any other areas critical to meeting our present challenges.”
The letter was also signed by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).
Four years ago, Donald Trump nominated Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary when she had no experience whatsoever in as an educator. Not a single Republican brought up lack of experience then. Dr. Ben Carson, noted neurosurgeon, was nominated for, and became, HUD Secretary with no experience in housing or urban development. Again, not a single GOPer made a peep over that.
I find it odd that the GOP's top attack on Becerra for HHS is that he's not a medical doctor. There have been 12 secretaries of HHS since it became HHS in 1980. # of MD's who have held the position: 3.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (image via Twitter) President-elect Joe Biden has named California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services for the incoming administration. The inclusion of Becerra, a former congressman, to such a high-level post will likely help to quell some concerns that Biden hadn’t named more Latinos to the Biden cabinet. From the New York Times:
Mr. Becerra became Mr. Biden’s clear choice only over the last few days, according to people familiar with the transition’s deliberations, and was a surprise. He has carved out a profile more on the issues of criminal justice, immigration and tax policy, and he was long thought to be a candidate for attorney general.
But as attorney general in California, he led legal efforts on health care, including seeking to protect the Affordable Care Act from being dismantled by Republican attorneys general. He has also been a leading voice in the Democratic Party for women’s health.
If confirmed, he will immediately face a daunting task in leading the department at a critical moment during a pandemic that has killed more than 281,000 people in the United States — and one that has taken a particularly devastating toll on people of color.
If confirmed, Becerra would be the first Latino to lead the department. He’ll also be the first person ever with a name beginning with the letter X to hold a cabinet position. I like Becerra. I’ve watched him for many years – from his time in Congress to becoming Attorney General of the Golden State. Some reports suggested Becerra might have been in the running to take Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s U.S. Senate seat.
On Friday, the first day of Pride Month 2018, the state of California announced that there will be no state-funded travel to yet another state thanks to recently passed anti-LGBT legislation.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has issued a statement that his state will ban state-sponsored travel to Oklahoma thanks to the Sooner State’s latest anti-LGBT legislation.
Under a 2017 California law, the state’s attorney general is required by to keep a list of all states subject to a travel ban because of “laws that authorize or require discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
California Secretary of State Xavier Becerra
Last month, Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law anti-LGBT legislation that allows adoption and foster care agencies to reject same-sex couples on the grounds of religious beliefs.
“California taxpayers are taking a stand against bigotry and in support of those who would be harmed by this prejudiced policy,” said Becerra.
#Oklahoma will be added to the list of restricted states for state-funded travel based on the discriminatory law that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse services to #LGBTQ parents & foster children based on religious/moral grounds. #PrideMonthhttps://t.co/FIL1YfsLxn
Michael McNutt, a spokesperson for Fallin, slapped back at Becerra in a statement which read in part, “With our state’s economy being as strong as it is, we won’t miss a few Californians traveling on state business showing up in our state.”
Oklahoma becomes the ninth state to fall under California’s 2017 travel ban law.
Kansas enacted similar legislation the same week as Oklahoma, but the Sunflower State was already on California’s banned list (along with Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and South Dakota) due to a 2016 law that allows campus religious groups to exclude LGBT students.
June 22 is the date California’s ban on Oklahoma travel goes into effect.
