Biden Sets Leftist Tone for 2024 Re-Election Effort at Philadelphia Event

President Joe Biden held his first presidential re-election campaign event on Saturday at the Philadelphia Convention Center, making strong appeals to his left-wing base. 

Biden appeared alongside organized-labor activists and mentioned in the first few seconds of his oration that when he thinks of working Americans, he especially values the ones who associate with causes he finds politically congenial.

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Pennsylvania Republicans Consider Paths to Hospital Price Transparency

A committee of GOP Pennsylvania lawmakers on Thursday gathered in downtown Lewisburg to consider ways to make patients aware of hospital service prices ahead of time. 

At the House Republican Policy Committee hearing at the Open Discourse Coalition headquarters, policy experts testified that, despite a new federal rule requiring price transparency, many hospitals still fail to accurately inform patients of procedures’ costs. Representative David Rowe (R-Middleburg), who organized the event, recalled constituents telling him they’ve faced shocking examples of pricing opacity.

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Politically Diverse Groups Back Free Speech at Pitt After Pennsylvania Lawmakers Urge Event Cancellation

After two Pennsylvania lawmakers last week called for cancelling upcoming conservative appearances at the University of Pittsburgh, a politically diverse array of voices are responding in favor of free speech. 

Representatives Jessica Benham (D-Carrick) and Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia), who co-chair the state House LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, denounced the state-related university for permitting the presence of speakers who oppose liberal views of transgenderism. The guests they find objectionable include Cabot Phillips, senior editor of the The Daily Wire news organization, who is scheduled to speak this Friday; Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer and critic of biological males competing in women’s sports, who will appear on March 27; and Michael Knowles, a Daily Wire commentator, who will debate transgender economist Deirdre McCloskey on April 18. All speakers are being sponsored by student-led associations. 

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Business Conservatives and High Ranking Pennsylvania Democrat Ally on ‘Clean Slate’ Legislation

Pennsylvania state Representatives Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia) and Sheryl Delozier (R-Camp Hill) on Friday reintroduced “clean slate” legislation to subject low-level drug felonies to automatic record sealing. 

The new bill boasts not only a bipartisan roster of legislative backers but also a philosophically broad range of supportive organizations including the pro-free-market Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, the Faith and Freedom Coalition, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, the Justice Action Network, Right on Crime and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. 

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Tennessee Group Wants Property Seizure Reform After Indictment of Knox County Sheriff’s Supervisor

The Tennessee chapter of Americans for Prosperity is pushing to reform the state’s forfeiture law after a former Knox County Sheriff’s Office supervisor was accused in a federal indictment of taking seized drug assets and using them for personal use.

Former Assistant Chief David Henderson, head of Knox County’s Narcotics Unit, entered a not guilty plea Friday in court, according to WBIR-TV.

Henderson is accused of using cash and narcotics unit credit cards for the purchase of personal items, including $138,000 worth of Apple products between 2011-2018, $13,000 in Yeti coolers, $2,200 for a Google Nest indoor security system and more, according to the report.

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Koch Network Launches Massive Ad Campaign to Bring Down Dem Senate Candidates in Key States, Including Tennessee

Phil Bredesen

The Koch Network is preparing to launch a multi-million dollar ad campaign across three swing-states in the hopes of bringing down key Democrats in the midterm elections. Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a Koch-backed group, announced Wednesday that it would spend $820,000 in Wisconsin, $2.1 million in Missouri, and another $2 million in Tennessee, according to CNBC. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who has already faced $5 million in attack ads thus far, is outed for opposing the GOP tax bill and backing a $1.3 trillion spending bill in AFP’s latest ad. “For Tammy Baldwin, it’s higher taxes and more spending. Higher sales taxes, higher income taxes, higher energy taxes, voting for $1.3 trillion in spending. We can’t afford Tammy Baldwin,” the ad states, praising Baldwin’s Republican opponent Leah Vukmir. In Tennessee, the Koch network is going after former governor Phil Bredesen, who is now seeking a Senate seat, for spending $9 million on remodeling the governor’s mansion at the expense of taxpayers. “While we struggled through a recession, Bredesen wasted 9 million taxpayer dollars upgrading his governor’s mansion, $4 million on a party cave, gilded bathrooms, and a kitchen worth two Tennessee homes,” the ad states. “Phil Bredesen lived the…

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