Election Center
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Changing California a harbinger for GOP
LOS ANGELES – If the future happens first in California, the Republican Party has a problem. The nation’s most populous state – home to 1 in 8 Americans – has entered a period of Democratic political control so far-reaching that the dwindling number of Republicans in the Legislature are in danger of becoming mere spectators at the statehouse.
Eye on Boise: Lawmaker wants teacher bonus option
BOISE – Sen. Jim Hammond, R-Coeur d’Alene, says he doesn’t want teachers to lose the $38.8 million in performance-pay bonuses that the state is scheduled to send out to school districts on Nov. 15 – he just wants it distributed differently than the voter-rejected Students Come First laws required. “I would like to see it go to the base, and let the teachers negotiate with their local school boards for it,” Hammond said. “Because I think it’s disingenuous … giving merit pay to people that don’t deserve it. I don’t want to do that to teachers.”
Obama, Boehner look to compromise
WASHINGTON – One day after a bruising, mixed-verdict election, President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner both pledged Wednesday to seek a compromise to avert looming spending cuts and tax increases that threaten to plunge the economy back into recession. Added Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.: “Of course” an agreement is possible.
Republicans wonder where party is headed
WASHINGTON – Having lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections, Republicans plunged Wednesday into an intense period of self-examination, blame-setting and testy debate over whether their party needs serious change or just some minor tweaks. The fallout will help determine whether the GOP might return to heights approximating the Ronald Reagan years or, as some fear, suffer even deeper losses as the nation’s Democratic-leaning Hispanics increase in number.
Otter says he, Luna ready to talk about fixing education
BOISE – After Idaho voters decisively rejected the Students Come First school reform laws on Tuesday, leaders on both sides were calling Wednesday for a new start on education reform. Mike Lanza, a Boise father of two who chaired the successful referendum campaign, said, “We want to sit down with our elected leaders – and that includes Superintendent (Tom) Luna – and begin the hard work that is required to forge real education reform.”
Idaho school reform foes call for new start
After Idaho voters decisively rejected the “Students Come First” school reform laws on Tuesday, leaders on both sides were calling Wednesday for a new start on education reforms in Idaho, with all the stakeholders at the table.