Politics

(CNN)A former top White House official will offer on Thursday a full-throated rebuttal to the narrative pushed by President Donald Trump and his GOP allies about Ukraine's role meddling in American politics, according to a source familiar with her testimony. Fiona Hill, who served as Trump's top Russia adviser until she left the administration this summer, will also warn the House Intelligence Committee as part of the impeachment inquiry that the Kremlin is prepared to strike again in 2020 and remains a serious threat to American democracy that the United States must seek to combat, the source said. In her brief opening statement, Hill will offer a strong pushback to the claims peddled by Trump, his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and some congressional Republicans that Ukraine may have interfered in the 2016 elections to help Hillary Clinton. Multiple witnesses have said that the moving forward on the 2016 election interference investigation -- along with a probe into former Vice … [Read more...] about Former top Russia adviser to reject GOP claim that Ukraine meddled in US politics

The House still needs knocking down. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images There is a majority coalition for progressive politics in the United States — but not necessarily a winning one. In opinion polls, many of the American left’s economic ideas command majoritarian support, while its positions on most social issues are more popular than the conservative movement’s. At the ballot box, the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer has won the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, while its House candidates won the nationwide vote by 8.6 percent in last year’s midterms. As of 2018, there were 12 million more registered Democrats than Republicans on America’s voting rolls. And yet conservative Republicans control the presidency, the Senate, the Supreme Court, 30 of 50 state legislatures, and a majority of America’s governors’ mansions. Meanwhile, in the one chamber where Democrats do wield federal power, House leadership … [Read more...] about America’s Political System Is Rigged Against the Left (and Always Has Been)

Google reportedly plans to ban political advertisers from targeting election ads using data such as public voter records and general political affiliations. Reuters reports that Google plans to stop allowing advertisers to target election ads using data such as public voting records and political affiliations. This decision comes as social media firms are placed under pressure from members of Congress over their handling of political advertising ahead of the U.S. presidential election in 2020.Google stated that it would limit audience targeting for election ads ranging from age, gender, and location. Political advertisers will be allowed to contextually target such as serving ads to people that are searching form information on a certain topic. Scott Spencer, vice president of product management for Google Ads, wrote in a blog post: While we’ve never offered granular microtargeting of election ads, we believe there’s more we can do to further promote increased visibility of … [Read more...] about Google Bans Political Ads from Using Voter Data for Targeting

Upcoming political events in the Bay Area: THURSDAY C-Dubb podcast: A live taping of “The C-Dubb Show,” on Facebook and social media racial bias. Free. Noon, the Commonwealth Club, 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here. Impeachment Q&A: A review of what happened this week, with UC Hastings law Professor Hadar Aviram. Free. 6:30 p.m., Manny’s, 3092 16th St., San Francisco. More information is here. Slavery reparations: A debate on, Resolved: The U.S. government should pay reparations to African Americans impacted by slavery. Sponsored by the Berkeley Forum. Free. 7 p.m., 102 Wurster Hall, UC Berkeley. More information is here. Dolores Huerta: A conversation on activism and the future of America. $25 and up. 7:30 p.m., Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. More information is here. MONDAY Related Stories PoliticsBy Joe GarofoliBombshell? What bombshell? GOP lawmakers stick by TrumpPoliticsBy John WildermuthDemocratic candidates … [Read more...] about Bay Area political events: Impeachment Q&A, Dolores Huerta

Even as the Democratic presidential field seems to be narrowing to four top contenders, Wednesday night’s debate highlighted a question the party had hoped not to face: How much do Democrats risk if they offer voters an all-white set of top candidates? With the first balloting now a bit more than two months away, former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg continue to dominate polls and the attention of primary voters.That emerging “Final Four” does offer an important measure of diversity: A woman, an openly gay man; two of the oldest men ever to run for president, as well as the youngest.As the debate underscored, the top candidates also represent a wide spectrum of other choices facing the party: Between those who would make big structural changes and advocates of a more incremental approach; between an advocate of a strong U.S. role in the world and those with more … [Read more...] about As Democratic primary heads toward an all-white top tier, debate underscores risks of losing black voters