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Analysis | The core weakness of the Republican Party, on raucous display

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Analysis | The core weakness of the Republican Party, on raucous display


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Why is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) in Congress?

The 2020 marketing campaign that first introduced her to Washington wasn’t centered on the coverage proposals Greene wished to enact as a legislator. Her marketing campaign was as a substitute centered totally on fringe rhetoric and chastisements of the D.C. institution, together with members of her personal occasion. This was amplified after Republican leaders like Home Minority Chief Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) criticized previous feedback of Greene’s that have been racist or endorsed the QAnon conspiracy principle.

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However that didn’t matter. Greene simply received the first after which election in a district that backed Donald Trump by a 3 to 1 margin. So now she’s in Congress — and was a key ally of McCarthy in his wrestle to be elected Home speaker. Her willingness to throw bombs at her perceived opponents has made her a pressure in Republican politics, one which McCarthy clearly thinks is helpful to maintain shut.

In different phrases, Greene is in Congress as a result of her type of agitating the Republican base was helpful in successful a major in a deep-red district, successful election in a wildly pro-Trump one and in having access to the core of Republican institutional energy. And this, actually, is the Republican Celebration’s central weak spot, as made apparent in final 12 months’s midterm elections: It is extremely, superb at energizing its base and never superb at interesting to everybody else.

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On Tuesday evening, President Biden delivered his State of the Union tackle. This annual occasion is Congress’s promenade, a chance to dress up and be fancy with a number of expectations that individuals shall be on their finest conduct. Earlier than this 12 months’s iteration, McCarthy cautioned his caucus to behave, reportedly reminding them that the nation could be watching.

To proceed the promenade analogy, this can be a bit just like the principal telling the jocks that the native information could be filming the dance and to not act up. Guess what the jocks are going to do?

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So Biden’s speech was interrupted repeatedly by jeers and catcalls from the Republican facet of the aisle, with Greene usually among the many most vocal. Biden dealt with the interruptions adroitly. McCarthy may very well be seen providing varied scolding facial contortions — pursed-lip shushes, eyebrow-raised cautions — to no obvious impact. The crew trying to be clamorous provided clamor.

There are most likely two causes they selected to take action.

One is express: They hoped to attract consideration to themselves. When Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) loudly accused Barack Obama of mendacity throughout a 2009 speech to Congress, he grew to become a spotlight of media consideration for days on finish. On the time, after all, this deviation from decorum was astonishing and sudden; the raucous, confrontational path to election that Donald Trump flattened down in 2016 had not but been totally cleared. Within the context of the trendy Republican method to politics, Wilson’s interruption appears virtually dignified.

So the percentages have been good on Tuesday evening that should you pulled off one thing loopy sufficient, you is perhaps the jock who will get interviewed by the reporter from Channel 6. However what occurs when all of the jocks compete to be the wildest? All that will get on air is a bunch of jocks ruining promenade. A number of folks accused Biden of mendacity final evening, it appears; the media has barely bothered to determine who did, in addition to Greene.

The opposite motivation for interrupting Biden is implicit: Many Republican elected officers are merely used to treating their opponents with overt disdain. Greene has endorsed QAnon theories and mused about executions of distinguished Democrats. Given the uncommon alternative to be face-to-face with Biden, we must always count on her to demurely observe his speech?

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We shouldn’t be stunned that McCarthy’s warning to his caucus about behaving went unheeded. We shouldn’t be stunned that his efforts to quell the uproar within the second have been ignored. We shouldn’t be stunned that on Wednesday morning he excused the interruptions as proof of his caucus being “passionate.” In any case, the story of McCarthy’s tenure as chief of his occasion has largely been about his failure to erect fences across the occasion’s fringe, from Trump on down.

There may be merely a big component of his occasion that’s targeted on combating the left, on preventing Democrats or different elites in Fox Information hits or punchy tweets. They accomplish that for a similar causes a few of them interrupted Biden’s speech: They need consideration or they’re merely behaving in the way in which they’ve turn into accustomed to behaving. There’s a Pavlovian component right here. Greene and others have been profitable at getting Republican votes by ginning up Republican anger. In districts the place Republicans win simply, that works simply positive. Within the jostle to get consideration and help from Republicans nationally, extremism on this regard is a boon. However in successful contested races? Much less so.

The 2022 midterms confirmed the problem right here. Biden was fairly unpopular, however Democrats fared decently. Partially, this was a operate of Republican candidates operating in swing states who alienated reasonable voters: Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, Kari Lake in Arizona, Herschel Walker in Georgia. These have been candidates who received occasion primaries whereas providing fringy, Trumpian rhetoric and who misplaced within the basic as a result of, even in a 12 months that ought to have been good for Republicans, they have been seen as too poisonous.

The State of the Union tackle is barely within the rearview mirror, so it’s most likely untimely to attract sweeping conclusions about its results. Most People didn’t watch and can depend on subsequent reporting to study it. However those that watched noticed a sample that mirrored the midterms: a president who they most likely don’t love being confronted by an unusually disrespectful cadre of Republicans.

McCarthy’s downside is his occasion’s downside: Its base feeds on and expects aggressive anti-Democratic rhetoric, and the conservative media and lots of elected officers jostle to supply it. They — the media and the politicians — are largely insulated towards any adverse results. Greene isn’t going to lose a Republican major if she offers Republican voters what they need, and no Republican will lose a basic election in that district.

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Maybe your assumption is that some Republicans may also discover the outbursts distasteful. Maybe. However this is the reason you may have responses just like the one co-host Brian Kilmeade provided on “Fox & Buddies” Wednesday morning: Biden goaded them into that outcry. It’s the Democratic president’s fault, in any case.

The system churns ahead.



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Washington

The Washington counties where home prices are increasing the most

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The Washington counties where home prices are increasing the most


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Home prices are on the rise in Washington state.

Statewide, the median sales price of a home in Washington during the first quarter of 2025 was $636,200, representing a 1.6% increase from the same period in 2024, according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at the University of Washington.

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The center’s latest housing market report stated that home prices increased in all of the state’s 16 metropolitan counties compared to a year ago. Zooming out for a statewide view, rural Lincoln County in Eastern Washington saw the biggest relative increase at 22.1%. The median home price in Lincoln was $274,500 in the first quarter of this year.

In Kitsap County, the relative increase was 2.1% and the median home price was $543,600. In King County, the increase was 1.1% and the median home price was $940,900, representing the highest median price in the state.

“Washington state’s housing market was mixed in the first quarter of 2025, with sales and inventory increasing and new building permits declining compared with a year ago,” the report stated. Approximately 7,500 building permits were issued in the first quarter of 2025, representing an 18.9% decrease from the same period last year.

Here’s more on the report and where home prices are increasing the most in the state.

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Where have housing prices increased the most in Washington state?

These are the 10 counties in Washington state that saw the biggest relative increases in home prices in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago, according to the housing market report:

  1. Lincoln County
    • % change by year: 22.1
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $274,500
  2. Pacific County
    • % change by year: 19.4
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $358,300
  3. Columbia County
    • % change by year: 17.7
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $268,700
  4. San Juan County
    • % change by year: 17.5
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $866,700
  5. Skamania County
    • % change by year: 15.5
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $531,200
  6. Wahkiakum County
    • % change by year: 12.1
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $467,500
  7. Klickitat County
    • % change by year: 11.1
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $437,500
  8. Grant County
    • % change by year: 10.5
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $372,200
  9. Skagit County
    • % change by year: 10.3
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $610,000
  10. Cowlitz County
    • % change by year: 10
    • Median home price Q1 2025: $413,700

What are the least and most affordable counties in Washington?

The least affordable county in Washington state is San Juan County, according to the report. Garfield County in southeastern Washington is the most affordable. The median home price in Garfield was $212,200 in the first quarter of 2025.

However, all “the state’s 39 counties, and especially those in the central Puget Sound region, present affordability issues for first-time buyers,” the report stated.

What are the best cities to buy a home in the US?

A new report from the personal finance company WalletHub examined the best and worst places for first-time home buyers in the country. It took 300 cities and compared them across a number of factors, including affordability, market attractiveness and quality of life, according to the report.

Palm Bay on the eastern coast of Florida ranked as the best place for first-time home buyers in the country, according to the report. “It’s among the leading cities in the country when it comes to active home listings per capita and new building permits per capita, so there are plenty of older and brand-new homes to choose from,” the report stated. “In addition, while it’s a stereotype that millennials struggle to buy homes, Palm Bay has the fifth-highest millennial home-ownership rate.”

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But several Washington locations also ranked relatively highly as being good places to buy a home. Spokane Valley ranked 33rd, Yakima ranked 45th and Spokane ranked 46th.

Housing data shared by Redfin showed the median sale price of a home in Spokane Valley was $430,000 in May 2025. Yakima had a median sale price of $360,000, and Spokane had a median sale price of $390,000.

How much do you need to earn to buy a home in Washington state?

A January 2025 report from Realtor.com found that home buyers in 36 states needed to earn a six-figure income to reasonably afford a home. Washington ranked sixth among states where buyers needed the highest incomes to buy a home. The median household income recommended to buy a house in Washington was $176,669.

Realtor based its findings on the median monthly mortgage payments in each state.

“The calculation uses median home list prices from December 2024 and a 6.93% mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed loan,” the report stated. “It includes estimated property taxes and insurance costs. It also assumes buyers put down 10% and didn’t spend more than 30% of their gross income on their mortgage payments each month.”

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income in Washington state in 2023 dollars was $94,952.



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Rowdy teens prompt youth curfew in Laurel

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Rowdy teens prompt youth curfew in Laurel


There’s a new curfew in Laurel, Maryland, after fights, illegal fireworks and a shooting disrupted the city’s Fourth of July festivities.

Thousands attended Laurel’s Independence Day Celebration at Granville Gude Park on Saturday.

Large groups of teens disrupted the event by getting into fights, setting off illegal fireworks. One teen was shot, authorities said.

“It was organized chaos, I call it,” Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor said.

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Videos on TikTok show much of the chaos happened at the Laurel Town Centre.

“It’s been a trend in various cities throughout the state of Maryland with juveniles coming into the city on purpose and causing disruption. And they happened to come into our city on July the 5th and cause some disruption that made us review some of our curfew policies,” Sydnor said.

The new temporary curfew began Friday night and will be in effect every night through August 31.

Children under the age of 17 can’t be out without an adult from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Sydnor said if police see children violating the curfew they will interview the child to find out why they’re out past 11 p.m. before taking them home or having a parent or guardian pick them up.

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“Not for us to try to grab kids and lock ’em up. We want to just push the kids along. We want the parents to deliver the message. Know where your kid is at all times,” Sydnor said.

Opinions about the curfew are mixed. One man who attended the Fourth of July celebration said he didn’t see any problems.

“A lot of times it’s done on your feelings and emotions. You need to kind of set those feelings and emotions aside and have some good common sense and logic. Don’t just put a curfew or put something in because on this particular day this happened,” he said.

A grandmother who was out shopping with her grandkids on Monday told News4 teens need to be home and she supports the curfew.

“These kids don’t have no structure, no discipline, no nothing. This would help with crime with teenagers,” she said.

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Sydnor said the city has activities for teens, including drop-in events at recreation centers, a safe summer nights program and “real talk” sessions for kids 13 to 17 to hear their concerns.

“We have safe spaces for them to come in and … learn stuff at the same time and have fun,” Sydnor said.

Police said no one has been arrested in connection with the shooting during the Fourth of July celebration.



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String of car thefts anger Washington Township residents: ‘Get a job!’

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String of car thefts anger Washington Township residents: ‘Get a job!’


Four cars were stolen by a group of teenagers in the early morning hours on Friday, July 11, in Washington Township, New Jersey, police said.

According to police, between 3 and 5 a.m. Friday, the cars were stolen out of the South Jersey town.

In every instance, the car was unlocked. And, in three of the thefts, the key fob was in plain view, police said.

“I’ve been the police chief here now going on 9 years. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like it,” Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik.

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Gurcsik said the “crimes of opportunity” like the ones that took place Friday are happening more and more both locally and across the Garden State.

“Our suspects were wearing masks; they were wearing gloves, and they appear to be very, very young; like 13, 14, 15 and 16-years-old, so our group of thieves appear to be juveniles,” Gurcsik said.

Michael Bangle, a resident of Washington Township, was able to capture the suspects on surveillance video as they tried to steal his car.

Thankfully for Bangle, the thieves were unsuccessful in stealing his vehicle.

“We lock our cars whenever we get out of it; and at nighttime before bed, I always come out and check them. Always, like clockwork, I make sure,” Bangle said.

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Bangle said his neighbor on Uranus Road was not as fortunate, as the criminals were able to steal their white Chrysler 300 in around 30 seconds.

““Get a job! Get a job! If you can do that, go and steal cars, go get a job somewhere, or go get a real job,” Bangle said.

Police were able to recover three of the four vehicles stolen, Gurcsik said.

According to Gurcsik, criminals often steal cars to commit more serious crimes.

One of the cars stolen on Friday was used in a high-speed chase in Pennsauken, he said.

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Although no arrests have been made in the thefts, Gurcsik is warning wannabe thieves to stay away.

“Stay out of Washington Township,” Gurcsik said. “We’ll prosecute you 100%.”

Residents are also urged to report any suspicious activity, as well as to remember to bring in their key fobs and lock their doors.



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