Eric Holder Loses Big in Wisconsin Battleground Election

Wisconsin voters appear to have delivered a stunning rejection to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s latest political objective, in a state that’s not only sure to be a 2020 election battleground, but also pivotal in the upcoming decennial redistricting process. Holder is the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a tax-exempt, 527 political organization that primarily operates for the purpose of influencing elections. The group’s stated aim is to favorably position Democrats in select “red states” and presidential swing states for the next round of redistricting after the 2020 census.

A key race in that effort occurred Tuesday, when liberal-backed judge Lisa Neubauer faced conservative judge Brian Hagedorn for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Despite overwhelming outside support for Neubauer, the April 2 election has Hagedorn leading by nearly 6,000 votes. Hagedorn, a former aide to Republican Gov. Scott Walker, claimed victory on Wednesday, saying “the people of Wisconsin have spoken, and our margin of victory is insurmountable.” The election, however, is likely headed to a recount, although such margins of victory are rarely overturned.

Holder was unusually active in what would seem an inconsequential race for President Obama’s former top law enforcement official. But he invested his time and reputation, as well as hundreds of thousands of donor dollars, in what looks to be another surprising Wisconsin defeat. Famously in 2016, President Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 1 percent in Wisconsin, smashing her much relied upon “blue wall” of Midwest support. It was the first time a Republican presidential candidate won the state since President Reagan in 1984. Determined to reclaim Wisconsin, Holder attended four events in both Madison and Milwaukee on March 14 and 15, to rally African Americans and younger voters to his voting rights and redistricting agenda, which included “voting for Judge Lisa Neubauer on April 2.”

A press release stated that the National Redistricting Action Fund, the 501(c)4 affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, invested $350,000 in two groups—Together Wisconsin Acts and the Black Leaders Organizing Communities—to support Neubauer’s campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Holder also met with the Wisconsin chapter of NextGen, a political activist organization anchored by progressive San Francisco billionaire Tom Steyer. The event was held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He further met with Leaders Igniting Transformation, an activist group engaging in “electoral organizing, direct action, [and] advocacy for public policy,” according to its website. Other groups acted in tandem, pumping more than $3 million into television ads on Neubauer’s behalf—both supporting her and attacking her opponent. An allied group called the Greater Wisconsin Committee spent at least $750,000 on attack ads, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Records show that the Greater Wisconsin Committee is mostly funded by labor unions and groups supporting left-leaning candidates. Records also show that Holder’s National Democratic Redistricting Committee raised more than $8.3 million from late 2016 to March 2018. It’s top donors were George Soros, Fred Eychaner, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/eric-holder-loses-big-in-wisconsin-battleground-election_2869410.html

Gerrymandering, I am noticing this word being thrown around quite a bite lately by them..new narrative, I believe, that said these are states they can't win with out cheating. This is an art to them they fancy themselves quite skillful at it.

Venezuelans rally to demand power, water and end to Maduro

CARACAS (Reuters) - After weeks of power cuts and limited access to water, tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets on Saturday to back opposition leader Juan Guaido and protest against President Nicolas Maduro, who they accuse of wrecking the economy. Venezuelans, already suffering from hyperinflation and widespread shortages of food and medicine, say the crisis has worsened over the past month. That is when crippling nationwide power outages began to leave vast swaths of territory in the dark for days at a time, cutting off water supplies and cell phone service.

Guaido, head of the opposition-controlled National Assembly and recognized as Venezuela’s legitimate head of state by most Western nations, had called for rallies on Saturday to mark the start of what he has billed as a new wave of “definitive” protests to oust Maduro. Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency in January, denouncing Maduro as a “usurper” for beginning a second term after a 2018 election widely considered fraudulent. Maduro, who retains the support of the military and allies including Russia and China, has derided Guaido as a U.S. puppet and said he will face justice.

In Caracas, thousands of opposition supporters assembled at a main rally point in the eastern El Marques district. Protesters said their homes had been without water for days and many had taken to drawing it from unsanitary pipes or streams running off the Avila mountain overlooking Caracas. “We have to get rid of this usurper, and we can’t think about anything else,” said Claudia Rueda, a 53-year-old homemaker at the protest. At one point, the crowd chanted, “The water has gone, power has gone, and now Maduro what’s missing is that you go too.” Two massive power outages in recent weeks led Maduro’s government to cancel school classes and left many businesses shuttered. The resumption of services has been uneven, with cities such as San Cristobal, Valencia and Maracay still reporting intermittent blackouts.

“We haven’t just come to demand water and power. We’ve come to demand freedom and democracy,” Guaido said at the Caracas rally, surrounded by a cheering crowd. “We can’t let ourselves become used to this, we can’t put up with it, we aren’t going to let these crooks keep hold of our country.” While no immediate protest-related violence was reported in Caracas, witnesses reported clashes between protesters and police in the steamy oil hub of Maracaibo. Demonstrators in the city, in the western state of Zulia, told Reuters police had fired rubber bullet rounds and tear gas to disperse them. “I’m fed up. They hurt me, and though I was frightened, what it makes me most is angry,” said Denis Fernandez, a 25-year-old who said he had been injured by a rubber bullet.

Fernandez said his daughter had almost died from hepatitis a month ago, as hospitals had no supplies to treat her. When there is no electricity for air conditioning, he said he and his wife had taken to fanning their children at night to keep them cool. The National Assembly, on its Twitter account, said two of its lawmakers had been arrested and then released by authorities at the Maracaibo protest. Venezuela’s Information Ministry did not respond to a request to comment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics/venezuelans-rally-to-demand-power-water-and-end-to-maduro-idUSKCN1RI0L1?il=0