Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/314829
ByCharlesBabington The Associated Press WASHINGTON Tuesday's high-profile primary elec- tions may extend a streak of sorts for tea party Republi- cans: losing individual races but winning the larger ide- ological war by tugging the GOP rightward. Several tea party-en- dorsed candidates are strug- gling in Tuesday's Republi- can congressional primaries in Georgia, Kentucky and Idaho. In each state, how- ever, the "establishment" Republican candidates have emphasized their conserva- tive credentials, which nar- rows the party's philosoph- ical differences. Citing similar dynamics in other states, Democrats say the GOP candidates who are trying to give Republicans control of the Senate will prove too far right for cen- trist voters in November. Republicans need to gain six Senate seats to control the chamber. Holding Ken- tucky and Georgia against well-funded Democrats, both women, is crucial to their hopes. Six states hold primaries Tuesday. Georgia, Kentucky and Oregon have closely watched Republican con- tests for Senate. Pennsylva- nia and Arkansas have feisty gubernatorial primaries. In Idaho, tea party-backed lawyer Bryan Smith is try- ing to oust Republican Rep. Mike Simpson, who's seek- ing a ninth House term. In Kentucky, tea partyers would love to knock off Sen- ate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a 30-year sena- tor they see as too accom- modating to Democrats. But challenger Matt Bevin has struggled under a bar- rage of attacks from McCo- nnell and his allies. McConnell, caught off guard by the tea party move- ment in 2010, has scrambled to win support from conser- vatives who dislike compro- mise. He quickly allied him- self with Sen. Rand Paul, who defeated McConnell's hand-picked candidate in the 2010 primary. And in February, McCon- nell voted against raising the debt ceiling, a never-pleas- ant vote that past party lead- ers often swallowed to avert a government default. In Georgia, the Republi- can primary to succeed re- tiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss drew a crowded field, includ- ing three U.S. House mem- bers. All are battling for the top two spots, with a July 22 runoff virtually certain. Polls suggest Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey, who espouse tea party prin- ciples, may have faded in re- cent weeks. Georgia's former Secretary of State Karen Handel won endorsements from Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express. Rep. Jack Kingston and businessman David Perdue have walked a careful line: showing more openness to establishment support while still catering to hard- core conservatives who dom- inate Republican primaries. When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Kings- ton, Broun called him "the king of pork." That tag might have fit a few years ago. Kingston, a longtime Appropriations Committee member, has proudly steered millions of federal dollars to his district. But tea party-driven at- tacks on federal spend- ing have sent Republicans scurrying to tighter-fisted ground. Kingston raised eye- brows in January when he voted against an appropria- tions bill after working hard to insert funding for Savan- nah's port. In a sign of the narrow- ing differences between tea party activists and tradi- tional Republican groups, Kingston was endorsed by Brent Bozell, an outspoken critic of Republican "mod- eration." And the Chamber backed Kingston even though he has opposed two of its priorities: raising the debt ceiling, and overhauling U.S. immigra- tion policies to allow legal status for millions of people living here illegally. "I don't agree with folks in my family on every single issue, but I love them," said Chamber of Commerce polit- ical director Rob Engstrom. In Oregon, Republicans hope to knock off first-term Democratic Sen. Jeff Merk- ley in November. Seeking the GOP nomination Tuesday are pediatric neurosurgeon Monica Wehby and state Rep. Jason Conger. Arkansas' primary holds drama for several state of- fices, but the U.S. Senate showdown will come this fall. Two-term Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor and first- term GOP Rep. Tom Cotton will claim their parties' nom- inations Tuesday. Cotton cleared the Repub- lican field partly by steering solidly right on key issues. He differed with his fellow Ar- kansas Republicans, for in- stance, by voting against a majorfarmbill,whichconser- vatives found too costly. Some conservatives and liberals alike reject the no- tion that the Republican es- tablishment is taming the tea party movement this spring. They point to Thom Tillis, who won the Senate nomina- tion in North Carolina by de- featingleadersoftheteaparty and the Christian Right. Democrats say Tillis, speakeroftheNorthCarolina House, is no moderate. He led the way for cuts in taxes, ed- ucation spending and unem- ployment benefits. He boasts of rejecting federal funds to expand Medicaid. "He is as in synch with the teapartyastheycanget,"said state Democratic spokesman Ben Ray. Conservative activists say much the same thing, albeit with pride. Matt Kibbe, who has feudedwithMcConnellaspo- liticalchiefofFreedomWorks, saidtheself-describedliberty movement is winning the largerbattleswithintheGOP. "We've already changed the narrative, and the Re- publican Party is running on the principle of limited gov- ernment," Kibbe said. "Now we have to figure out what to do with a seat at the table." Bozell, who founded the conservative Media Re- search Center, said of the Republican primaries: "With virtually no exception, ev- eryone is running as a con- servative. No one is running as a moderate, no one is run- ning as an anti-tea-partyer." ELECTION 2014 Te a pa rt y lo se s ra ce s bu t tu gs G OP r ig ht wa rd DAILYNEWS,MIRANDAPEDERSON—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to the media with his wife, Elaine Chao, during a rally on Saturday at the Republican Party of Warren County headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky. By Donna Cassata The Associated Press WASHINGTON Defying House Republican leaders, a GOP congressman on Mon- day moved toward forcing an election-year decision on his immigration legislation. Rep. Jeff Denham of Cal- ifornia filed his bill, known as the ENLIST Act, as an amendment to the sweeping defense policy measure that the House will consider this week. The measure would create a path to citizenship for immigrants who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children and serve in the military. The bill "provides an ave- nueforthosewhowanttoper- form the ultimate act of patri- otism — serving their county — to earn legal status," Den- hamsaidinastatement."Asa veteran, I can think of no bet- ter way to demonstrate your commitment to our nation." Hismovecomesthreedays afterHouseGOPleaderstook stepstoblockavoteontheim- migration legislation, dealing a significant blow to efforts to overhaul a system widely dis- paraged as dysfunctional. The Rules Committee will decide on Tuesday what amendments the House will consider and vote on as part of its work on the National Defense Authorization Act. The GOP-led Rules panel rarely breaks with the lead- ership, following its wishes. The Senate passed a com- prehensive bill last year that would boost border security, remake legal worker pro- grams and offer a path to cit- izenship to the estimated 11.5 millionpeoplenowlivinghere illegally. That bill remains stalled in the Republican-led House where Speaker John Boehner has blamed GOP distrust of President Barack Obama to enforce any law for the inaction. Despite a wide coalition of business, labor, religious groups, farmers and oth- ers pushing for an immigra- tion overhaul, many individ- ual Republican House mem- bers who represent largely white districts have been unmoved. That's particu- larly true in an election year amid concerns about anger- ing core GOP voters. Denham's bill would al- low immigrants who were brought to this country on or before Dec. 31, 2011, and were younger than 15 years old to becomelegal,permanentres- idents—thefirststeptoward citizenship — through honor- able service in the military. WASHINGTON GOP congressman pushes for immigration vote By Fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A bill requir- ing mental health profession- als to undergo suicide-pre- vention training passed the state Assembly on Monday, as California public health data shows suicide is on the rise. Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, said his AB2198 follows recom- mendations from a 2012 re- port by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Preven- tion. The bill heads to the Senate after passing the As- sembly on a 44-11 vote, just above the threshold needed for approval in the 80-mem- ber chamber. "This will save lives and help us reverse the growing number of suicides in Cal- ifornia," Levine told fellow lawmakers. He said a third of Califor- nians who commit suicide saw a mental health profes- sional during the last year of their life. Data kept by the Califor- nia Department of Public Health show deaths by sui- cide hitting a peak of almost 4,000 in 2011. Much of the recent rise is concentrated among Californians ages 45 to 64, from 919 in 2000 to 1,542 in 2012. The U.S. Centers for Dis- ease Control reported 38,364 suicide deaths involving Americans ages 10 and up in 2010, the last year data were available. That is more than died in vehicle crashes that year, according to CDC data. If it becomes law, Levine's bill would take effect in 2016. It would set one-time train- ing requirements for li- censed psychologists, social workers, family therapists and counselors along with requiring 15 hours of train- ing for new professionals and six hours of continuing edu- cation for those already li- censed. Several Republican and Democratic lawmakers questioned whether a man- date is the best approach, noting opposition from pro- fessionalgroups.Democratic AssemblywomanMarikoYa- mada, a social worker, with- held her vote on the bill and said it is not clear whether a lack of training contributes to deaths. Assemblyman Tim Don- nelly, R-Twin Peaks, said he was conflicted over the bill after losing a brother to sui- cide. He encouraged an ap- proach that would improve training for mental health professionals without impos- ing new requirements. SACRAMENTO Suicide-prevention training bill passes Assembly By Jeff Amy The Associated Press JACKSON, MISS. A Mis- sissippi man who pleaded guilty to sending letters dusted with the poison ricin to President Barack Obama and other officials was sen- tenced Monday to 25 years in prison. James Everett Dutschke was sentenced by U.S. Dis- trict Judge Sharion Aycock in Aberdeen after tell- ing the judge May 13 that he had changed his mind about wanting to withdraw his guilty plea in the case. He also was sentenced to five years of supervised re- lease and remains in federal custody. Dutschke waived his right to appeal. He wasn't fined or ordered to pay res- titution because he doesn't have enough money, fed- eral prosecutor Chad La- mar said. Unlike last week, Dutschke said little and al- lowed his lawyer to do the talking, Lamar said. The 42-year-old Tupelo resident sent the letters to Obama, Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Mis- sissippi judge Sadie Holland in what prosecutors have said was an elaborate plot to frame a rival, Paul Kevin Curtis. Poisoned letters addressed to Obama and Wicker were intercepted before delivery, but one let- ter reached Holland. She was not harmed. The 42-year-old Tupelo man told Aycock on May 13 that he wanted to withdraw the plea agreement he made with federal prosecutors in January. In a half-hour speech, the former mar- tial arts instructor told the judge that federal prosecu- tors lied when they said he made the poison and about finding his DNA on a dust mask. He renewed accusa- tions that Elvis imperson- ator and entertainer Curtis had committed the crimes. Curtis, a Corinth resident, was initially arrested by federal prosecutors but was abruptly released after offi- cials found no physical evi- dence of ricin in his home. Although he pointed the finger at Curtis, Dutschke also argued last week that had only used castor beans to make a fertilizer that couldn't hurt anyone, not a true form of the poison ricin. At the end of the May 13 hearing, Aycock had told Dutschke to file a formal motion asking to withdraw his plea. A decision on that motion would have been up to the judge. But Dutschke had a change of heart. On Friday, defense attorney Ken Coghlan sent a letter to Aycock saying his client would stick with the guilty plea. CRIME Mississippi man sentenced to 25 years in poisoned letters case www.expresspros.com 530-527-0727 243 So. Main Street RespectingPeople. Impacting Business Call us. And get back to work. Call us any time for: • An extensive network of recruiting sources • Testing and training • Experienced recruiters • Full-time employees • HR expertise and support services • Temporary Workers • Evaluation hire • Carefully screened candidates • Dedicated service 7166 TH St, Corning 530-824-4546 Familybusiness,owned&operated DOMESTIC & EUROPEAN AUTO REPAIR Certified Mechanic Smog, Brakes, Diesel Smogs, Oil Change, Transmission, Alignment & More flyingaperformance@att.net FLYING 13540 Trinity Ave, Red Bluff (530) 527-8262 • (530) 528-8261 IFNOANSWERCALL529-7400 www.garysautobodyandtowing.com AUTO BODY REPAIR WEBILLALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • COLLISION REPAIR APPROVED BY ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • LIFETIME WARRANTY • STATE-OF-THE-ART DOWN DRAFT SPRAY BOOTH • NATIONAL AWARD WINNING RESTORATION • AUTO & RV REPAIRS • ECO-FRIENDLY & DRUG FREE • FAST! COURTEOUS SERVICE • CLEAN AIR CONDITIONED TRUCKS • REASONABLE RATES • LOCAL & LONG DISTANCE • FORK LIFT SERVICE • ANTIQUE & LUXURY CAR TOWING • ON & OFF ROAD RECOVER • MOTOR HOMES & RV'S TOWED • AUTO & RV REPAIRS • INSURANCE WORK • 5TH WHEEL TOWING • AUTO BODY WORK Full Auto Detailing Available Free with collision repair GARY'S AUTO BODY & 24 HOUR TOWING, INC. 24 HOUR TOWING TheHopeChest Thrift Shop servingthecommunitysince1965 ProceedsfromTheHopeChesthelp support Family Counseling Center Mentionthisad RECEIVE 50% OFF one regular priced item Mon.-Fri. 10-4 • Sat. 9-4 1359 Grant St., Red Bluff 530-527-0270 LikeusonFacebookoremailusat hopechest@yahoo.com One time use only ✓Checkoutourselection of beer, wine & tobacco YourOneStopConvenienceStore 5am to 11pm 714 Walnut St., Red Bluff ONE STOP 327WalnutSt.,RedBluff (530) 529-4004 Voted Best Carpet / Floor Covering Store in Tehama County. DALE'S CARPET& DESIGN | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014 4 B