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Ad will collapse in seconds CLOSE August 4, 2017 08/04/2017 6:43 pm By Ed Kilgore Share No, apostate Democratic governor Jim Justice is not a symbol of the Donkey Partys biggest problem. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The defection of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice yesterday from the Democratic to the Republican Party will inevitably fuel tired rhetoric about Reagan Democrats, or white-working-class Americans, or heartland voters, leaving the Donkey Party in hordes in protest against its radical bicoastal liberalism. Democrats obviously need to pay attention to voters theyve recently lost or failed to energize, all over the place, and in various demographic categories.

But the Trump Democrat phenomenon may have been a bit oversold. Justice obviously was never much of a Democrat to begin with. And the broader category of Obama-Trump votersthose who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012, and then for the mogul in 2016may have been misunderstood as well. Or so reports the Washington Posts Dana Milbank:

[N]ew data, and an analysis by AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer that he shared with me, puts all this into question. The number of Obama-to-Trump voters turns out to be smaller than thought. And those Obama voters who did switch to Trump were largely Republican voters to start with. The aberration wasnt their votes for Trump but their votes for Obama.

One problem with the much-discussed idea that Obama-Trump voters swung the election is that voters notoriously over-report votes for the election winner after the election. So some Obama-Trump voter didnt actually vote for Obama, and others didnt actually vote for Trump. (Some may have even voted for everyone other than Obama and Trump). That reduces the magnitude of the flip.

To the extent that Obama-Trump voters were identified as those who voted for the 44th president in either 2008 or 2012, it is important to remember that Obama won pretty big the first time around: according to exit polls, he won 9 percent of self-identified Republicans and 20 percent of self-identified conservatives. He also won independentsa category that includes a lot of people who usually vote Republican52/44.

But theres more than incidental evidence that apparent Obama-Trump voters arent loyal Democrats who suddenly flipped because Trump was appealing to their material or cultural interests: they supported Republicans down-ballot, too:

The AFL-CIOs Podhorzer analyzed raw data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study, out in the spring, and found that Obama-Trump voters voted for Republican congressional candidates by a 31-point margin, Republican Senate candidates by a 15-point margin and Republican gubernatorial candidates by a 27-point margin. Their views on immigration and Obamacare also put them solidly in the GOP camp.

If these voters have been lost by the Democratic Party, many of them are probably lost for good.

Milbank concludes: The party would do better to go after disaffected Democrats who didnt vote in 2016 or who voted for third parties. A votes a vote, and in a competitive environment it makes no sense for Democrats to write anyone off. But the obsession with Obama-Trump voters may be myopic.

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Even the Russian Twitter bots have been piling on McMaster over the past week.

Investigators now appear to be looking for evidence that Flynn committed a specific crime.

The obsession with Obama-Trump voters showing the fatal Democratic weakness in 2016 may be based on imaginary party-switchers voting GOP as usual.

He agreed to the terms as part of a plea deal after he was arrested in February at a Knicks home game.

The administration reiterated its commitment to exiting the Paris deal on Friday unless the agreements terms become more favorable to the U.S.

Instead of cracking down on employers who hire the undocumented, some ICE agents are allegedly helping them underpay their immigrant workers.

For all the talk of tax reform, Republicans would prefer to offset tax cuts with spending cuts, and in the end wont insist on offsets at all.

He faces up to 20 years in prison.

But will the GOP leadership allow moderates to make Obamacare work better, when conservative donors want to see it fail?

More resources to sniff out the culprits, and a review of the subpoena policy.

And the one thing that could save him now is terrifying.

TMZ reports a major Hollywood producer has approached the Mooch about a film or TV project.

Stranger things have happened.

Its becoming monotonous to report, but its true: the slow but steady recovery continues, which could help Trump stabilize his shaky popularity.

Conway accused the network of only focusing on the Russia story.

His YA book, The Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution, comes out this month.

The most recent bizarre Title IX case involves a student whose university told her, despite her protestations otherwise, that she was a victim.

They unveiled two bipartisan bills that would require judicial review of any effort to oust the special counsel.

The Trump Organization drives a hard bargain with the people who protect the president.

Any charges will take months to materialize, but impaneling a grand jury which can issue subpoenas and compel witnesses to testify is a big deal.

View post:
May Not Be As Many 'Trump Democrats' As Previously Imagined - New York Magazine

Longtime nurse and union president, Cathy Glasson, is offering a clear vision of how bold, progressive policies can improve the lives of average Iowans. Glasson is exploring the run for governor in a swing state, which in 2016 voted in favor of Trump, but also Obama in 2008 and 2012.

In the following Q&A, Glasson talks universal health care, raising the minimum wage, and how she can improve the life of the average Iowan.

Im exploring a run for Governor because Im tired of watching working people in this state get beat up. The number one job of a Governor is to raise peoples standard of living. Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds have failed to do that, and I cant sit back and watch it happen.

The facts on the ground are a lot different than the rosy picture Reynolds and the Republican legislature try to paint.

For nearly a third of our families, Iowa really isnt working. 381,000 Iowa households are struggling to pay their bills because two-thirds of the jobs in our state pay less than $20 an hour. Parents working two and three low-wage jobs are still scrambling to come up with $900 each month for childcare, to pay the rent or mortgage, to put food on the table and gas in the car. If you have a health condition on top of that, good luck.

Ive been traveling the state listening to peoples stories, and so many Iowans feel ignored by out-of-touch politicians. Working people in this state are fed up, and they should be. They cant wait for half-measures -- they needed help yesterday.

I believe its time to take bold, progressive steps to dramatically change the quality of life for more than a million Iowans:

As a local union president and organizer, Ive seen what happens when working people come together and demand a seat at the table. I've organized workers at multiple hospitals, and seen the impact on their lives when they can collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.

The facts are clear: workers with unions make a better wage and have a better standard of living than workers without a union. I want more Iowans to have that. One of my top priorities as Governor will be to make it easier to join unions and employee associations so Iowa workers can fight for a better future. 184,000 public workers in Iowa had their union rights stripped away this year with the gutting of Chapter 20. It was a vicious attack on workers. I would fight to reverse that as Governor.

As an intensive care nurse, Ive fought for healthcare reform for decades. Ive seen what happens to people when they dont have good coverage they end up in intensive care with painful, dangerous, expensive conditions that could have been avoided. Medicaid privatization in Iowa has made things even worse for our healthcare system. We handed over control to profit-driven corporations, and now were wasting taxpayer dollars bribing them to stay in our state. As a nurse, I believe healthcare is a right and holding Iowans' care hostage is wrong.

Since D.C. wont act, states like Iowa should lead the way with our own universal healthcare system.

A $15 minimum wage will help ease thousands of Iowans off of public assistance because theyll be able to afford their basic expenses. It will also pump millions of dollars into local economies because when low-wage workers get a raise, they spend that money right away in their communities in grocery stores, restaurants, shops and gas stations. This means increased revenue for businesses, and more jobs to keep up with demand for goods and services.

Our public schools are struggling and its hurting our kids chances at getting ahead. New jobs in Iowa increasingly require education beyond high school, and college has become unaffordable for working-class and middle-class Iowans. We need to fully fund our public schools all the way from kindergarten through college and make them the top priority in our state budget. We need to make community college tuition free -- its a small investment with a huge payoff. We should freeze tuition at our public universities, and help college students drowning in debt restructure their loans so they can make investments for their families, like buying a car or a home.

I believe clean water is the birthright of every Iowan. We have to work with farmers to keep chemicals and manure from entering our waterways, and then make polluters pay when they damage our water. Corporate agriculture is the only industry exempt from the Clean Water Act, so we need to hold them accountable at the state level. Taxpayers shouldnt have to pay for polluters willful negligence, and Iowans deserve access to clean drinking water, bottom line.

We can only change Iowa if we listen to the voices of more Iowans. We need to reduce barriers to voting so no eligible Iowan is ignored.

First, we need to roll back the new voter ID law. It discriminates against the poor, the elderly, people with disabilities, people of color and college students. Instead of making it harder to vote, we need to expand early voting add more locations and extend the hours so working people have a chance to participate. We should make it easier to vote by mail, instead of reducing the window for absentee voting. We should consider automatic voter registration, because Iowans that are eligible to vote should be able to, period. We also need to join the 47 other states where people with felony convictions who have served their time can get their voting rights restored.

The people in power want to make it harder for every Iowa voice to be heard. Its time for bold, progressive changes to our voting laws to bring more Iowans into our democratic process.

As I talk with Iowans across the state, it's clear to me that people all over are dealing with a lot of the same problems. So many Iowans are struggling to afford their basic expenses, whether theyre in rural Iowa, a city like Des Moines or a small town like Spencer where I grew up. Raising the minimum wage to $15 would have a huge impact all over the state.

People in too many rural communities have to drive absurd distances for medical care. A universal healthcare system would stop rural clinics from closing because the state would ensure providers get paid for services, a major failure of Governor Reynolds privatized Medicaid system.

In rural Iowa, public schools are consolidating. Kids have a long commute to school and underpaid teachers are buying the tools they need out of pocket. Adequate funding for public education would make a big difference for families in rural areas, and making the investment to create jobs in small towns would help keep these schools open by slowing population decline.

In our small communities, some of the best jobs available are in the public sector. We need to make sure those good jobs stick around by restoring public workers collective bargaining rights and putting more people to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. We need to invest in renewable energy in our state not only because its the right thing to do but also because it's a huge job creator, especially in rural Iowa.

Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds blew the states surplus on giveaways, bonuses, credits and tax breaks for corporations. They paid off their corporate cronies and Iowas children, elderly, people with disabilities, patients and front-line workers paid the price. Branstad and Reynolds cut funding for K-12 schools, universities, mental healthcare, the judicial branch and social services, but left the sweetheart deals for CEOs.

Were now at a point where these tax cuts, tax credits, special deals and exemptions are almost twice as much as the states general fund. Corporate tax giveaways cost Iowans $12 billion and the general fund budget is $7 billion. Its corporate welfare on the backs of working people and it has to stop.

If we end these corporate tax giveaways and demand that profitable companies pay their fair share, we will have the resources to fully fund our public schools, make community college tuition-free, and expand mental health treatment including addressing the opiod crisis, which is spiraling out of control.

Theres a lot of other wasteful spending going on in Des Moines. The Governor and Legislature are bailing out Managed Care Organizations so they dont pull out of privatized Medicaid. They are spending taxpayer dollars on new voter ID cards to address a nonexistent problem. And lets not forget the legal fees Iowa taxpayers are covering as extremist laws that were recently passed are rightfully challenged in court.

We need leaders with the guts to make big changes in our states budget priorities because were headed in a dangerous direction.

(As for Collective Bargaining) Unions and employee associations provide a bridge to the middle class, but this Legislature and Governor decided that isnt as important as taking care of their union-busting corporate donors with deep pockets. As Governor, I will fight to restore and strengthen Chapter 20 for public employees and use every opportunity I can to find new ways to help more working people across Iowa to join unions and employee associations. Ill walk the picket line myself when I need to so that hardworking Iowans finally get the wages and the respect they deserve.

For more on Glasson, visit CathyGlasson.com.

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Excerpt from:
Meet Cathy Glasson: Populist Iowan Democrat Exploring A Run For Governor - HuffPost

By Peggy OHare, Staff Writer

U.S. Air Force veteran and national security expert Gina Ortiz Jones, who is from San Antonio, announced Wednesday that she will challenge Congressman Will Hurd for the U.S. District 23 seat. She is a Democrat.

U.S. Air Force veteran and national security expert Gina Ortiz Jones, who is from San Antonio, announced Wednesday that she will challenge Congressman Will Hurd for the U.S. District 23 seat. She is a Democrat.

Congressman Will Hurd, a Republican from Helotes, has represented the 23rd Congressional District of Texas since 2014.

Congressman Will Hurd, a Republican from Helotes, has represented the 23rd Congressional District of Texas since 2014.

San Antonio Democrat challenging Hurd for congressional seat

A U.S. Air Force veteran and national security expert from San Antonio announced Wednesday that she will challenge Congressman Will Hurd for the U.S. District 23 seat.

Gina Ortiz Jones, 36, a graduate of Jay High School and a veteran of the war in Iraq, is running as a Democrat against Hurd, a 39-year-old Republican from Helotes first elected to lead the district in 2014.

Jones is a first-generation American and a former Air Force intelligence officer. She said she will work to protect peoples health care and the environment.

As a veteran, she said she wont oppose or vote against the wishes of the U.S. secretary of defense.

I know that national security starts at home. It starts with the type of opportunities that I had the type of opportunities that allow our most vulnerable to become our most promising, Jones said Wednesday. And those opportunities are protected or erased based on how people vote in D.C.

Ive talked to folks that are tired of being told one thing and then their representative (votes) against their interests in D.C.

Hurds campaign brushed off news of a Democratic challenger.

Will Hurd is focused on building upon his record of being the most effective member of Congress since 2014, Hurd campaign manager Justin Hollis said in a prepared statement. He delivers for the district while the Democratic challengers only deliver tired talking points.

Jones was raised by a single mother who came to the United States from the Philippines. After graduating from high school in San Antonio, Jones attended Boston University on a four-year Air Force ROTC scholarship. She went on to serve in the Air Force for nearly three years, deploying to Iraq in 2005.

She then pursued a 12-year career in national security, intelligence and defense, including serving in the Defense Intelligence Agency. She most recently was a director for investment at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, reviewing foreign investments coming into the U.S. for national security risks.

After serving for eight months under President Barack Obamas administration and seven months under President Donald Trumps administration, she resigned in June and returned to San Antonio.

pohare@express-news.net

Read the original post:
San Antonio Democrat challenging Hurd for congressional seat ... - mySanAntonio.com

(This post was updated at 12:45 p.m. Thursday to clarify that the potential candidate is exploring the race, but has not definitely made a decision.)

At least one more candidate, with roots in Washington County, might soon be entering the race for the Democratic nomination in the 21st Congressional District in 2018, said Warren County Democratic Chairwoman Lynne Boecher.

"It's a woman," Boecher said Thursday, referring to a new potential candidate exploring the race. "She's in Africa right now. She's from Granville."

Five candidates have already announced they are seeking the Democratic nomination.

Among other political parties, Russell Finley of St. Lawrence County, a beef cattle farmer and real estate broker, is challenging U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, a two-term incumbent, in a Republican primary.

Two female Green Party members are seriously considering the race, according to Matt Funiciello, the party's congressional candidate in 2014 and 2016.

Christopher Schmidt of Fort Edward, a political activist, announced earlier this year is exploring running in the Libertarian Party line.

Follow staff writer Maury Thompson at All Politics is Local blog, at PS_Politics on Twitter and at Maury Thompson Post-Star on Facebook.

Go here to see the original:
BLOG: Another Democrat exploring NY21 - Glens Falls Post-Star (blog)

The Oakland Press

Democrats begin to see Pelosi as a 2018 problem Belleville News-Democrat In a survey of 20 Democratic House candidates, only one a former Senate staffer from Orange County, California would state support for the congresswoman staying on as leader of the House Democratic Caucus. Of the rest, 18 declined to say if Pelosi ... Column: Democrats' 'better deal' is a raw dealThe Oakland Press all 13 news articles »

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Democrats begin to see Pelosi as a 2018 problem - Belleville News-Democrat