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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden kisses Penny Cordes during a campaign event on foreign policy at a VFW post Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Osage, Iowa.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden kisses Penny Cordes during a campaign event on foreign policy at a VFW post Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Osage, Iowa.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden kisses Penny Cordes during a campaign event on foreign policy at a VFW post Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Osage, Iowa.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden kisses Penny Cordes during a campaign event on foreign policy at a VFW post Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Osage, Iowa.

Democrats struggle to build broad support on eve of voting

OSAGE, Iowa (AP) As Joe Biden wrapped a bus tour of Iowa this week, the elderly crowd gathered at VFW Hall 7920 was a stark reminder of the former vice president's struggle to attract young people.

Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, needs to strengthen his standing with older voters. Elizabeth Warren has room to grow among those without college degrees. Pete Buttigieg's support with African Americans is negligible, and the buzz that surrounds Amy Klobuchar belies the fact that she's barely registering with virtually any key demographic.

Just over a week before the Iowa caucuses jump-start the Democratic contest, polling and interviews with campaign officials suggest each of the leading candidates has glaring holes in his or her political bases. The gaps raise serious questions about their ability to build a broad coalition like the one Barack Obama twice used to win the presidency questions that strike at the heart of electability as Iowa Democrats seek, above all, a nominee who can rally the nation to defeat President Donald Trump in November.

They need to generate enthusiasm, 69-year-old retired attorney Tom Delgado said of the Democratic field while waiting for Biden to arrive at the VFW hall in Osage, Iowa. I don't think any one person in the race right now can do it.

Delgado's concerns echo those of Obama veterans like David Binder, a pollster who was involved with both presidential victories and now worries that no one in his party's 2020 class is a lock to reassemble the vaunted Obama coalition of three core groups: young people, minorities and working-class whites.

Every Democrat needs to work as hard as they can to coalesce those groups, Binder said. I think some have shown in the polling that they can have a base with one or two of them, but not the whole coalition.

He added: If any one of those elements falls off, then its going to be very difficult for a Democrat to win.

The challenges for each of the candidates and the party as a whole have triggered a sense of alarm from campaign operatives and Democratic officials, several with ties to Obama, who worry that mathematical realities shaping the electorate could make it difficult for any of the candidates to defeat Trump without significant improvement over the coming months.

The Republican president cobbled together a winning coalition of his own in 2016 by drawing heavily on white, non-college-educated voters, and his campaign sees opportunities to expand his support with Latinos, among other key demographics. At the same time, Trump is trying to stoke Democratic divisions, betting that rifts between core Democratic constituencies will help him win a second term.

Democrats hope that shifts in the electorate, particularly among educated voters and women, could broaden the path to the presidency for the Democratic nominee. But there is a broad acknowledgement that few groups of Democratic voters are passionate about their choices in 2020.

Im deeply concerned about our chances this fall, said Bill Burton, an Obama aide who pointed to Obama's strength with a diverse set of voters, particularly working-class whites in more than 200 counties across the nation that backed Trump in 2016. Its going to take a candidate who can stitch together the broadest possible coalition to beat Donald Trump.

The candidates are aware of their deficiencies, but there are no easy answers.

Buttigieg, whose struggles with African-American voters have haunted his campaign for months, said in an interview that, No one is hurting more under the divisiveness and mismanagement more under the Trump administration than communities of color.

I think now is our chance, with one consistent message, to build perhaps the broadest range of Democratic voters that we've had in some time, Buttigieg added. I think it'll take patient, coalition-building."

Biden senior strategist Anita Dunn acknowledged a weakness with younger voters when pressed, but she suggested that Biden's competitors have much more to worry about with other demographics.

Other campaigns may want to think about how they can engage better with older voters, who actually vote at a greater propensity than younger voters do, Dunn said. But clearly, if you look at where this race is right now and the kind of support each candidate has, Biden, by far, has the best base to expand."

Sanders' chief strategist, Jeff Weaver, highlighted Sanders' strong standing with young minority voters in particular, a group that was not largely engaged in 2016. To showcase that strength, the campaign is hosting multiple events in Iowa this weekend with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 30-year-old liberal superstar who will stand in for Sanders as he participates in Trump's impeachment trial.

Sanders has also aggressively courted labor unions, whose working-class voters form an important part of his political base, Weaver said.

The key to victory is putting together a coalition that includes people of all races, excites and energizes young people, and brings working people back into the Democratic Party, Weaver said. Bernie can bring together the various pieces."

Campaigns and independent operatives believe a winning coalition in 2020 will bear some differences from Obama's coalition more than a decade ago. Democratic strategists are looking particularly at women and college-educated voters across America's suburbs, who have shifted away from Trump's GOP in a series of elections since he took office.

We're looking at a new electorate now, said Katie Drapcho, director of research and polling for the pro-Democrat super PAC Priorities USA.

Specifically, she said the Democratic Party and its nominee will have opportunities to win drawing largely from three key groups: non-college-educated women, suburban voters who backed Republican Mitt Romney in 2012 but sided with Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, and working-class voters who twice backed Obama yet swung to Trump in 2016.

Still, Democrats cannot afford significant slippage among the core pieces of the Obama coalition. And leaders from those factions are concerned.

Civil rights activist Al Sharpton said he's deeply disturbed that the two highest-profile African American candidates running for president, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, have already been forced out of the race. He said it's too early to tell whether any of the remaining Democrats can energize the black vote to a level close to Obama, the nation's first black president.

I do not see one singularly able to do it yet," Sharpton said.

Like other Democratic leaders, he's hoping that Trump himself will ultimately persuade black voters to turn out en masse even if the ultimate Democratic nominee does not excite them.

The biggest organizer and energizer of black voters is Donald Trump, Sharpton declared.

It's much the same with another pillar of the Obama coalition, young voters, who have been more engaged in the Trump era but have shown little excitement for most of the current Democratic candidates. Sanders, the self-described democratic socialist who has called for a political revolution, is the big exception.

Calvin Wilborn, the former president of the College Democrats of America, said it's unfair to compare any 2020 Democrat to Obama.

Obama spoiled us. Not only did he move legislation and most of his ideology aligned with us, but he was charismatic, Wilborn said. When you set the bar so high, its hard for others. Were waiting for the same level of inspiration.

___

AP writers Hannah Fingerhut in Washington and Meg Kinnard in Orangeburg, South Carolina contributed to this report.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.

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Democrats struggle to build broad support on eve of voting - Fairfield Citizen

The rally came after news that civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton was denied the opportunity to testify on the issue of diversity in the state's judicial system at today's hearing. In the past several months Reverend Sharpton has visited Delaware calling for progress on the issue and penned a letter to leading law firm Skadden Arps calling for elite firms to do their part in advancing people of color in the legal industry.

While people of color makeup over 60% Delaware's prison population, only four justices who serve on the three highest courts in Delaware are people of color.

Said Reverend Sharpton in a separate statement released to Delaware Business Now, "To say that I am disappointed I was denied the opportunity to testify before the Delaware State Senate on the matter of [Mr. Fioravanti's] confirmation would be an understatement. Diversity transferred is not diversity created or advanced. Delaware must do better. Governor Carney and the State Legislature must do better. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue further with them, and will not rest until we address this injustice."

Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign Manager Chris Coffey, "While the appointment of Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the Supreme Court made history, Governor Carney's decision to fill her vacant seat on the Chancery court with a candidate like Mr. Fioravanti would completely undo that progress. In order to fairly represent Delaware's residents, the court system must prioritize placing more people of color on the bench. It's disappointing the Senate chose not to hear from Reverend Sharpton, whose moral credibility on issues of racial justice is beyond question, but today's rally showed just how important this issue is to countless Delawareans."

"We recognize the importance of our nominations to our highest courts," said Reverend Dennis. "We call on Delaware's Senate to consider diversity as an essential piece of justice when replacing the first African American justice that served the Chancery court. A variety of diverse voices must be a part of the discussion when deliberating on cases. When the court looks like the people that come before them, we see more fairness and justice."

Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the issue. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

Contact:Mary Urban, mu@adeoadvocacy.com, 410-456-2753

SOURCE Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware

See the article here:
Following Senate's Rejection of Reverend Al Sharpton's Request to Testify at Chancery Court Nomination Hearing, Delaware Pastors Rally with Community...

(Permanent Musical Accompaniment To This Post)

Being our semi-regular weekly survey of whats goin down in the several states where, as we know, the real work of governmentin gets done, and where you can see that painted wagon and smell the tail of the dragon.

We begin in Michigan, where they keep electing sexist jackasses to their state legislature. From the Michigan Advance:

Before moving along, though, we should check on the issue at hand about which Ms. Donahue wanted to ask. From Detroit Metro Times:

Jeebus, these people belong in a zoo. Seriously. Hang in there, Alison Donahue. Not everyone is a caveman.

David Eggert/AP/Shutterstock

We move on to Florida, where Congressman Matt Gaetz is in the news again. This time, hes gotten sideways with another Republican and, as the Tampa Bay Times informs us, this is part of an ongoing family feud. It all began with a legislator named Chris Latvala tweeting out a photo of himself chatting with Rev. Al Sharpton.

Matters escalated apace.

Against all possible odds, the exchange gets even more childish. Please, Florida, stop electing these people. Youre lowering the discourse.

The Washington PostGetty Images

We skip on up to Virginia, where it truly was a helluva week. First, the Commonwealth became the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which makes it part of the Constitutionor, maybe not. The fight goes on. From The Atlantic:

Almost at the same time, Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in Richmond because some gun-fondlers were said to be preparing An Action to protest gun control measures that are currently before the state legislature. From The New York Times:

Northam wasnt kidding, either. Goons of many lands seem to be converging on his capital. Again, from the NYT:

It is here where we note, without irony, that the Arabic for "The Base" is al-Qaeda.

Sue Ogrocki/AP/Shutterstock

And we conclude, as is our custom, in the great state of Oklahoma, where Blog Official Fry Cook Friedman of the Plains brings us the tale of another embattled Christian who is being oppressed. From Channel 8 in Tulsa:

The measure is supported by one of Americas most respected smugglers.

And safe from customs officials, I would imagine.

This is your democracy, America. Cherish it.

Read more:
Matt Gaetz Is in an Internecine Beef With Another Florida Republican - Esquire.com

I had the honor and pleasure of riding on a bus full of spirited teachers and support staff on their mission to rally for education at the state Capitol last Monday.

I am not a teacher. I raised two sons who attended public schools, have a grandson who graduated from a public school and is in his second year at a state college. I believe in public education.

I come from a working class, union family who never had the money to send any of us to a private school. Charter schools werent even thought of back then. My parents paid their taxes and knew that some of that money went to support public schools where their five kids would be given the best education available.

I believe that unions are good and that the unions for teachers are designed to help them get the full range of benefits and safe working conditions that they should have. That is why I supported Sarah Fortney when she ran for Polk County School Board. She believes this as well, as evidenced by her never-ending support for the teachers and support staff in Polk County schools.

I cant begin to tell you how emotional it was as the crowds from other school districts parted and allowed the mass of Polk County teachers and support staff, chanting We Are Polk, enter the building. These are the same teachers who were bullied and threatened for their jobs, and yet they made their signs and they boarded those buses at 6:30 in the morning and were delivered to the parking lot at the civic center in Tallahassee. Polk County was, literally, the star of the show in Tallahassee and it was inspiring.

Sadly, it was for something should never have happened.

And Im not talking about the letter that Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd sent out after hours in what was perceived as a threat to the staff. That was unfortunate, a bad call on her part, poor planning at best.

Im talking about the past 20-plus years in the Legislature that have been controlled by the Republican oligarchs. I keep hearing, even from those who are supportive of public education, that this is not a political issue. Rev. Al Sharpton said is wasnt political, that it was a moral issue.

Yes, morals play an important part in this issue, but we cant legislate morals although many try.

This is a political issue. We can legislate how we should fund our schools, how to make sure that our teachers have the best, up-to-date tools and equipment necessary to teach our children.

We can legislate budgets that direct our taxpayer dollars to public schools rather than divert our money to charters and private schools who are not held to the same standards as a public school. Charter schools, where the teachers arent as regulated, arent expected to have the same level of education, nor are they even expected to be committed, full-time employees. Charter schools that can be set up in a strip mall almost overnight and given thousands of dollars that could have helped a struggling public school; and then may shut down in a few short months.

This is a political issue when our schools, our teachers salaries and pensions, our students access to quality teaching tools and everyones safety are all controlled by the Legislature. And just a reminder here, the Legislature has been in control by the Republican Party for over 20 years.

You can say that politicians created this problem but look at who has had the power in Tallahassee for over 20 years. Democratic lawmakers can submit all the great bills they need to, but if the majority leader doesnt get them to the floor for a vote, it goes nowhere.

Im suggesting this: Please stop wrapping this around all politicians. They are not all the same.

And please stop saying this is not a political issue. It is absolutely a political issue. Teachers and parents, if you want to have the same old, same old, and be treated the same old way in 2021, go ahead and vote to keep the Legislature controlled by the same Grand Old Party that pushed you to your historic Take on Tallahassee day.

But if you want something different, you may want to consider voting for the Democrat on the ballot in November. And even better, find a teacher who wants to run for office. We have several running now. We could use a few more in Tallahassee.

Or you can join the new statewide Democratic Public Education Caucus of Florida. Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DPECF/ or http://dempubed-fl.org (under construction).

Karen Cooper Welzel is chairwoman of the Polk County Democratic Executive Committee. She lives in Winter Haven.

Excerpt from:
Polk Perspective: Support teachers, support schools and support Democrats - The Ledger

Al Sharpton said Friday on MSNBC that President Donald Trump loses his temper because he is covering up for his lack of knowledge.

The panel was discussing reports on Washington Post reporters Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnigs new book, A Very Stable Genius, which has an account of whenformer Secretary of State Rex Tillersonallegedly called President Donald Trump a moron.

Sharpton said, I think youve got to always go back to who Donald Trump is as a person. Donald Trump always wanted to be in the circles of influence and was always rejected. Always seen as this outer-borough guy whose daddy had money. You know, with Roy Cohnthey were not considered respectable.

He added, I think a lot of the bombast including this encounter we just talked about is that he rejects getting into those kinds of conversations because he really does not understand the policy or the strategy that youre talking about it. So rather than sit there and try and learn, he overrules everybody with bombast and with anger, so he doesnt have to engage in the conversation, so you dont know that hes really not a moron, which Tillerson found out and assessed and said.

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

Originally posted here:
Al Sharpton: Trumps Bombast Is an Attempt to Cover Up His Ignorance - Breitbart