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* Mostly true

* Democrat Day itself has not been canceled. Party members will still get their free tickets to the fair just like Republicans will on Governors Day. But the traditional noontime rally has been canceled.

Steve Brown told me part of the problem with Democrat Day over the years was that the same people make pretty much the same speeches at both the county party chairmans brunch and then at the state fairgrounds rally a couple of hours or so later. It gets boring and repetitive and kinda pointless. It can be a real drag sitting in the hot sun listening to the same speech you just heard at brunch.

So, it looks like this could be the end of a very long era. I dont know how far back the tradition goes, but its a very long time. Back in the day, the first Mayor Daley would send trainloads of people to the fair. It used to be a huge deal, but the rally crowds for both parties have seemed to taper off in recent years and I dont think that Speaker Madigan likes doing it, either. Maybe itll restart if the Democrats elect a governor again, whenever that might be, because then Madigan wont have to be in charge.

* From a Crains column I wrote back in 2014

The Illinois State Fairs Directors Lawn is a tree-lined venue far from the corn dogs, grandstand concerts and beer tents.

The lawn spreads out in front of a rather dingy house used by the states director of agriculture, off a road marred by potholes and best accessed via a special gate that often is closed during the fair because theres so little public parking. A million or so people attend the fair each year.

The grass on the lawn is trampled flat. But no events ever are as crowded as the annual Governors Day and the accompanying rally for the party out of power.

Even in this era of high-tech campaigns, the twin events unofficially kick off the governors race, despite the fairgrounds somewhat rundown appearance. Politicians high and low attend. The more important ones give speeches, the less important mill about and try to interest others in shaking their hands. Every major media outlet sends reporters.

There usually are four crowds. Theres the true believers, young men and women who work or volunteer for the candidates. They wear matching T-shirts, carry signs and fire up the crowds by cheering or shouting slogans on command.

Then there are the older believers, folks who arent nearly as youthful or fired up but still strongly support their candidates. They sit in the front section with a clear view of the stage.

The space-fillers mostly are bused in to increase the crowd. They sit where they cant see the speakers, either behind the stands for the news media or off to the side under a canvas tent. They chat among themselves and enjoy the free food.

The fourth group is the hacks in the back. These are the political professionals, high-level campaign operatives, lobbyists and legislators. Theyve heard enough speeches, so they gossip at the rear of the lawn near the free beer.

No more free beer and hot dogs and politicking on the Directors Lawn this year, at least for the Democrats.

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Annual State Fair Democrat Day rally canceled - The Capitol Fax Blog (blog)

Rep. John Delaney, a 54-year-old moderate Maryland Democrat and former banking executive, has been discussing plans for a potential presidential campaign in 2020, three people familiar with the talks said on Thursday afternoon.

The Democrats said that Delaney has told people he will forgo both a run for reelection in Maryland's 6th congressional district and a run for governor in 2018, and that he's increasingly moved toward the idea of a presidential bid instead.

He is expected to lay out his plans in a Washington Post op-ed, set to run in print on Sunday and online as early as Friday afternoon. A number of Maryland news outlets and blogs have been closely monitoring developments on the Delaney story, with one site, Maryland Matters, dubbing Friday "D-Day" in Maryland politics, "the day that Rep. John Delaney announces his political plans for 2018 and perhaps beyond." Maryland Matters and Bethesda Magazine reported first this week on Delaney's mounting interest in 2020 and on Friday's forthcoming op-ed.

A spokesman, Will McDonald, did not return requests for comment.

The news would make Delaney the first Democrat to openly declare his interest in a presidential bid. It would also put a centrist, pro-business, self-funding Democrat out early in a primary that will come down in part to the progressive voters that backed Bernie Sanders and nearly upended Hillary Clinton's chances at the nomination.

In Congress, Delaney caucuses with the centrist "New Democrats," and considers himself to be socially liberal but fiscally prudent. Since his election in 2012, he has championed a wide range of legislation, including measures to create access to universal pre-K, form an independent commission for redistricting, reduce the corporate tax rate, institute a federal tax on carbon pollution, and establish a new aid program to provide financial assistance and benefits to coal workers.

In Delaney's view, Democrats close to him said, there is room in the race for a candidate who can run as a job creator who understands the need for regulation in business but also the value of the free market a strong general election candidate if he can weather a primary, as a person familiar with his plans put it on Thursday.

Asked about the idea of a New Democrat entering the 2020 race first, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Adam Green, replied, "John who?"

Another consideration for Delaney, whose estimated net worth is more than $91 million, comes down to a question of self-funding: If he's going to spend millions of his own money, better to do it on a national level, as two Democrats put it.

"He was never gonna run for governor," said a top Maryland Democrat, noting that the sitting Republican in office, Gov. Larry Hogan, has a strong approval rating and would be tough to beat for any Democrat. "It sounds crazy, but its not as crazy if you take a second to think about it. There is no Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama this time."

Even with more than three years to go until the next presidential election, Delaney has been considering the idea of a 2020 bid for a number of months now.

His political advisers have included strategists at SKDKnickerbocker, the prominent Washington firm, as well as friends from a large cross-section of the political word. (The invite list for his annual Christmas party ranges from financial executives and leaders in the Catholic Church to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.)

Although the Washington Post op-ed is expected to explicitly state his interest in running for president, Democrats said there could be a last-minute change.

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The First Democrat Talking About A Presidential Bid Is A Pro-Business Moderate - BuzzFeed News

Democrats largely protested a GOP effort to put senators on the record on a plan providinguniversal health care, but a handful running for re-election in Republican-leaning states decided to reject the single-payer system.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont, introduced an amendment Wednesday night to amend the House-passed health care legislation currently on the floor and replace it with a Democratic bill giving every American health care through Medicare. Daines does not support the Medicare-for-All bill, but he argued that the American people should know Democratsposition on the issue. Democrats cried foul, saying that Republicans were playing politics.

For Senate Democrats, avote against the bill would risk angering the progressive Democratic base, with more liberal groups rallying around the single-payer option. But a vote for the bill could spark criticismfrom the moderate wingthat is wary of a government-run health care system.

Asked if the Thursday vote put Democrats up for re-election in the 2018 midtermsin the difficult position of taking a stance on a contentious intra-party issue, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollendidnt respond directly.

I think every member will vote based on what they think is best for their state, the Maryland Democratsaid.

And a handful of Senate Democrats in some of the most competitivere-election decided supporting the bill was not good policy or politics.

Forty three of the 48 Democratsvoted present on the amendment. But fourSenate Democrats and one Independent who caucuses with them all voted no. All of them are up for re-election in 2018, and the fourDemocrats are running in states that President Donald Trump won in November.

We need realistic solutions to help fix our health care system and Ill keep trying to work across the aisle to do just that, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement explaining her no vote. The decision was made in 2010 to go with a market-based system the question is how we improve the system we have.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, also voted against the bill. Thatdoesnt necessarily express his final opinion on the subject, he said.

But the bill had way too many complications King said. I didnt think it was a good bill, so I voted no.

Trump won one of Maines four electoral votes last November. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates Kings re-election race as a Solidly Democratic.

Three of the Senate Democrats in tossup races Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia also voted no. Sen. John Tester of Montana also rejected the amendment. Hisre-election race israted Tilt Democrat.

Those who voted present sided with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who supports single-payer but called the GOP amendment a political trick on the Senate floor. Sanders decided Wednesday night, in consultationwith Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, that he would not be voting in favor of the amendment. And theyencouraged fellow Democrats to do the same.

One Democratin a tossup race voted present even though she opposes a single-payer system.

I am not for single-payer said it a million times,Sen. Claire McCaskill explained after the vote. Im for public option. Im for buy-in on Medicare for 55-65. And ... I dont think anybody in Missouri is going to think Im afraid of taking a tough vote. So Im not worried aboutthat."

But I am worried that they dont realize what a sham this has become, the Missouri Democrat added. [Republicans] arenow saying they will only pass a bill if theyre positive the House wont pass it. This is like the twilight zone. I mean its crazy.

McCaskill was referring to GOP leadership's plan to pass a skinny repeal of provisions of the Affordable Care Act, so that the Senate could go to a conference with the House and negotiate a more comprehensive Obamacare repeal bill.

The skinny repeal is still being drafted. Democrats accused Republicans of playing political games in the meantime.

Sen. Christopher S. Murphy said he was not concerned that single-payer supporters would be angry that Democrats did not voice support for the legislation.

People who are pushing single payer understand that this is a sham process, the Connecticut Democrat said. Once the dust settles on this repeal effort were going to have a really important conversation about what the future of U.S. health care is. But this is a total sham. Were not going to let it dictate the terms of the debate on Medicare-for-All.

Ken Zinn, political director for the National Nurses United, which supports the Medicare-for-All legislation, said he understood Democrats decision to vote present.

As Sen. Sanders correctly pointed out on the Senate floor, this was a ploy by Sen. Daines, Zinn said.

Zinn expected a renewed push for single-payer after the GOP health care votes this week, and expects Sanders to introduce his own Medicare-for-All legislation in the coming weeks.

Zinn said the union would be approaching the senators who voted against the amendment Thursday and urge them to support Sanders bill. He said those who do not support the proposal would absolutely face political blowback.

The movement for single payer, Medicare-for-All, is growing by leaps and bounds across the country, Zinn said. Those who are not willing to go there are going to have to face the consequences when they face their constituents or their voters.

Republicans were quick to criticize Senate Democrats for their votes on the bill, accusing them of ducking a policy the Democratic base supports.

Senate Democrats had the opportunity to put their money where their mouths are and vote for their own government-run health care plan, and they promptly went into hiding, said NationalRepublican Senatorial Committee spokeswomanKatie Martin.

Andy Van Wye contributed to this report.Correction:A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sen. Bill Nelsons vote. The Florida Democratvoted present.

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Some Red State Democrats Reject Single-Payer Amendment - Roll Call

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, July 27, 2017, 6:27 PM

ALBANY A former one-term state senator who had the backing of Mayor de Blasio is considering challenging Gov. Cuomo from the left in the Democratic primary next year.

Terry Gipson represented Dutchess and Putnam counties for two years before losing his re-election bid in 2014 to Republican Sue Serino.

The involvement of de Blasio and his fund-raising operation in the race caught the attention of investigators, who looked into whether they skirted campaign contribution laws. Ultimately, the offices of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney and the Manhattan District Attorney declined to bring charges even as they raised ethical questions.

Gipson, who lost a rematch to Serino in 2016, has been critical on social media of Cuomo on a host of issues, including his handling of the mass transit crisis. He is said to have been reaching out to liberal groups about a potential primary run.

Voters blame Gov. Cuomo for city's subway troubles: poll

One Democratic insider called Gipson a two-time loser who never even broke 50% in his own community. The one time he won it was a three-way race.

While Cuomo has faced public criticism from many in the left wing of the Democratic Party, the insider noted a recent Siena College poll found the two-term governor is still strong among self-described liberals. The poll found 68% of liberals have a favorable view of Cuomo. And by a 54% to 37% margin, liberals said they are prepared to re-elect Cuomo in 2018.

Cuomo faced a surprising strong primary challenge in 2014 from liberal Fordham Law Prof. Zephyr Teachout, who captured about a third of the vote but has said she does not intend to run again in 2018.

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Upstate Democrat Terry Gipson mulls 2018 run against Cuomo - New York Daily News

For a shrewd political tactician who seldom says or doesnt say anything without political purpose, Mr. Cuomos positioning has raised questions from allies and opponents alike: Is he a savvy politician playing the long game, or being too clever for his own good?

The first and biggest test of his nonaggression approach came on Wednesday, as Mr. Cuomo made his first trip to Washington since the start of the Trump administration. He met with the transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, to lobby for additional federal funding for the states infrastructure needs.

While in Washington, Mr. Cuomo took time to respond to Mr. Trumps directive, announced on Twitter, that transgender people be barred from the military. In his own Twitter post, Mr. Cuomo criticized the policy as wrong and intolerant, but blamed Washingtons directive, not Mr. Trump.

The governors elliptical phrase received some ribbing online. News flash it came from trump. Not George Washington, replied Elizabeth Soto, the executive director of the Hudson Valley Labor Federation. The governors office also issued a news release that cited the Trump administration.

Two of Mr. Cuomos advisers who have spoken with the governor about his choice not to attack Mr. Trump in personal terms said he decided not long after Novembers election to forge a verbal dtente with a president who, like Mr. Cuomo, has a long memory for those who cross him.

Advisers to both Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Trump describe them as aggressive counterpunchers, and Mr. Cuomo seems determined not to throw the first jab.

Those in Mr. Cuomos orbit pointed to two factors in the decision: first, the possibility of working with Mr. Trump to procure federal money for state projects, and second, the fear of alienating working-class white voters upstate whom Mr. Cuomo wants to capture in his 2018 re-election effort.

He decided early on he wasnt going to stick a finger in Trumps eye, said one of Mr. Cuomos advisers, who was not authorized to disclose internal strategy discussions.

Mr. Cuomo has criticized some of the presidents policies. After Mr. Trump announced Americas withdrawal from an international climate accord, Mr. Cuomo helped organize a coalition of states to fill the breach, criticizing this administration and the White Houses reckless decision. He has also spoken out against the administrations immigration and deportation policies.

But the governor has remained loath to go after Mr. Trump by name, even as the presidents popularity has plunged to historic lows, and as other Democrats, who signaled an early willingness to work with the president, like Senator Chuck Schumer, have adopted a harder line. Hours after Mr. Cuomo held a rally against the Republican health care bill last week in Manhattan and did not mention the presidents name in his 15-minute speech, Mr. Schumer branded that days setback a failure of Trumpcare.

In June, when Mr. Cuomo wrote an op-ed lamenting the Trump administrations immigration policies, he blamed the federal government, not Mr. Trump, for having forgotten who we are as a nation. In July, when Mr. Cuomo wrote about the health care bill, he cited the White Houses insistence that the legislation had heart, though it was Mr. Trump himself who had said so.

And when reporters recently asked Mr. Cuomo about Donald Trump Jr.s email with a Russia-linked lawyer, he took a pass. Ive been working, he said. Mr. Cuomo also skipped commenting on Mr. Trumps Twitter attacks on the MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. Let me read them first, he replied.

The nonanswers sounded more like the comments of congressional Republicans who have grown skilled in the art of the Trump dodge than those of a nationally ambitious Democrat.

In contrast, at the recent rally where Mr. Cuomo left the president unnamed, the Democratic state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, introduced himself as a guy who sues Donald Trump. It earned some of his loudest applause.

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City, a Democrat, traveled to Germany this month in hopes of casting himself as a foil to the president. And Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, who also could be a 2020 presidential contender, has been buying up online search ads calling herself a leader of the resistance who is standing up to Trump.

Cuomo could, if he wanted, attack Trump 20 times a day and it wouldnt hurt him a bit in the state of New York, said Robert M. Shrum, a longtime national Democratic strategist. Mr. Shrum said the governor had demonstrated a habit of not getting involved in national politics, though he added, Im not saying this would be my strategy.

Some of Mr. Cuomos own allies are privately hoping he will soon take a harder line against Mr. Trump, both to cut off oxygen for any potential 2018 Democratic primary opponents he faced a surprisingly stiff challenge from Zephyr Teachout in 2014 and to energize the progressive base he would need to win over in support of any presidential run.

The political left is frothing with anti-Trump energy, marching by the millions and pouring money into the coffers of leaders of the resistance. Bill Hyers, a Democratic strategist who was Mr. de Blasios 2013 campaign manager and is a frequent critic of the governor on Twitter, called Mr. Cuomos decision to avoid verbally confronting Mr. Trump a million percent tone deaf.

Hes wanting to be Trumps favorite Democrat. It makes no sense that he rips on the mayor of New York with pleasure but wont say one negative thing about Donald Trump, even mention his name, Mr. Hyers said. Thats the cowards way out.

Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Trump have a decades-long personal history, dating to the 1980s, when Mr. Trump was a developer and donor to Mr. Cuomos father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. The day after last Novembers election, the governor called Mr. Trumps election a bonus. He knows New York, he knows the challenges, Mr. Cuomo said then.

In January, when Mr. Cuomo went to Trump Tower to meet with the president-elect, they spoke about New York issues, including infrastructure and local tax deductibility.

It was not adversarial, Mr. Cuomo told reporters in the lobby afterward.

Joel Benenson, Hillary Clintons chief strategist in 2016, who served as communications director for the 1994 campaign of Mr. Cuomos father, approved of Mr. Cuomos restraint because there is ample time before a possible 2020 campaign. I dont think you have to make everything about Trump, he said. My advice would be to stick to your knitting and keep doing what youre doing on behalf of New York.

That is how Mr. Cuomo cast his trip to Washington.

I am a vocal critic of many Trump proposals, such as his health care, environment and tax policies, Mr. Cuomo said in his statement. At the same time, my job is to make progress for our state and improve the quality of life for New Yorkers and the federal government must approve and fund many necessary projects especially transportation and infrastructure which is the subject of my discussion with Transportation Secretary Chao.

People close to Mr. Cuomo say he is aware that transportation issues are a potential vulnerability: A recent Siena College poll showed his approval rating dropping to 52 percent from 61 percent since May, with all the erosion in New York City and its suburbs, areas gripped by problems with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

When it comes to Mr. Trump, Jay Jacobs, a former chairman of the New York Democratic Party during Mr. Cuomos first term, said the governor is walking a fine line because he wants to get re-elected in 2018 and he wants to get re-elected with good numbers and a good part of his popularity has come from Republicans, particularly upstate Republicans.

Last week, Mr. Cuomo reported a re-election treasury of more than $25.6 million among the most cash on hand of any politician in America including another $5 million raised in the first six months of 2017, even as he has yet to draw any serious challenger.

Attacking Mr. Trump might be something in the short term that works and gets everybody up into a lather, Mr. Jacobs added, but Cuomo is about the long game.

A version of this article appears in print on July 28, 2017, on Page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: As Democrats Assail Trump, Cuomo Takes a Different Tack.

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As Democrats Lay Into Trump, Cuomo Takes a Different Tack - The ... - New York Times