Miami Herald | Tallahassee's Democratic mayor, Andrew Gillum, is 'seriously ... Miami Herald It's been no big secret that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum has had his eye on the Florida governor's mansion, but now the Democrat is acknowledging it out ... |
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Tallahassee's Democratic mayor, Andrew Gillum, is 'seriously ... - Miami Herald
"Six states -- only six states have Democratic governors in (Democratic majority) state legislatures. In the last eight years -- more than 900 seats in state legislatures went from Democrat to Republican. And it's mostly the legislatures that draw the congressional districts," she said to Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota liberal who is a frontrunner in the race.
That takeover of state-level politics by Republicans didn't happen overnight. It's been part of a methodical push that has allowed the GOP to outpunch its weight in Congress. Control of state houses helps lead to safer congressional districts in most states.
One remedy, alluded to at points by each of the candidates, is the need to re-focus away from national politics.
"Donald Trump has gotten to be like a computer virus in the American political system," said South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. "He ties up our minds and our processing power with these equations that don't even have any solutions until the system overheats and breaks down."
He added later that, "Our opponents on the Republican side have patiently and cleverly built majorities at the state house level, Congress... It's not just about the White House. And when we fail to recognize that, we get into a whole lot of trouble, even when we have the White House, having our policies obstructed and trapped. And as you wind up in a situation like we are right now, where we don't have it, that's where we're really left out."
Jaime Harrison, the South Carolina Democratic Party chairman, blamed the organizing arm of former President Barack Obama's campaigns with draining resources and focus from local parties.
"State parties in this country are broken," said Harrison. "There are state parties in this country, right now, in two years, have - either they're defending one of the 25 US Senate seats or they have a governorship or they're trying to win back their state house and they barely have $35,000 cash-on-hand."
Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, who was a member of Obama's administration and has the backing of many established Washington Democrats, didn't disagree.
"We're too short term all too frequently," said Perez, whose voice was hoarse from "going all over the country."
"We have got to win up and down the ballots, from the dog catcher all the way up, and that is how we're going to be ready," he said.
Idaho Democratic Party executive director Sally Boynton Brown said the national party needs to give states and state governments more leeway.
"You know, as DNC chair, yes, it's a federal position. But they have been entirely too focused on the president's position," she said.
For Republicans, it was a years-long effort built on local parties and outside groups that focused almost exclusively on state legislatures.
It also relied on grassroots activism that brought new Republicans into the political process, particularly in 2009 as Democrats, who then controlled all of Washington, were passing Obamacare and other controversial priorities.
It was a painful process for the GOP. On the way to the Congressional majority, grassroots activists targeted moderate Republicans in primaries.
Democrats, more immediately, will need to also harness the excitement and engagement they've seen at townhalls in recent weeks.
Engagement was a key message of Obama as he was on his way out of office. And now the DNC candidates are seizing on it. Buttigieg said Wednesday that people frustrated by Trump and his policies should get involved.
"Don't get mad. Get on your school board," said Buttigieg after a question about Trump's Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos.
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Powerless Democrats realize politics is local - CNN
Leftists are besieging Republicans town meetings across the country, mostly trying to get headlines from sympathetic newspapers. Often, their conduct has been deplorable. Yesterday afternoon, Senator Tom Cotton did a town hall in Springdale, Missouri, and the left was out in force, stacking the 2,200-seat venue. Their antics have been hailed breathlessly by such outlets as the Washington Post, Politico and CNN. In fact, the leftists efforts were rather pathetic, as one Democrat after another got up and read long statements off note cards. Senator Cotton responded masterfully to the Democrats. You can watch the whole thing, but I dont recommend it. It is, however, worth watching a few minutes to get a feel for how crazy the Democrats are:
Notwithstanding the fact that better than 1,000 of them showed up to agitate at the Springdale town hall, the Democratic Party is almost extinct in Arkansas. Yesterdays dismal showing is one more nail in the Arkansas Democrats coffin, as an overwhelming majority of Arkansans no doubt reacted with disgust.
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Democrats Make Fools of Themselves at Cotton Town Hall - Power Line (blog)
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The FCC's Republican majority approved the change to help small providers avoid "onerous reporting obligations" included in the 2015 net neutrality order, they said.But by setting the threshold at250,000 subscribers and exempting small ISPs owned by larger companies,the FCC is effectively "exempt[ing] billion-dollar public companies" from rules that can be complied with in mere hourseach year, said Mignon Clyburn, the FCC's only Democrat.
The commission's 2015 order temporarily exempted ISPs with 100,000 or fewer subscribers from the so-called enhanced transparency requirements, but that exemption expired in December 2016. Clyburn said she would support reinstating the exemption for ISPs with 100,000 or fewer subscribers, but shedissented from today's order.
The250,000-subscriber exemption won't apply to the top broadband providers such as Comcast, Charter, AT&T, Verizon, and others. But it will exempt many ISPs owned by conglomerates, Clyburn said.
"Many of the nations largest broadband providers are actually holding companies, comprisedof many smaller operating companies," Clyburn said. "So what todays Order does is exempt these companies affiliates that have under 250,000 connections by declining to aggregate the connection count atthe holding company level."
The originalexemption for ISPs with 100,000 or fewer subscribers was applied to the aggregated total of subscribers "across all affiliates," so that small ISPs owned by big holding companies wouldn't be exempt. That changed today, according to Clyburn.
The White House's Office of Management and Budget found that complying with the transparency rule enhancements "would take each broadband provider 6.8 hoursannually," Clyburn said. The exemption will withhold important information about prices, including promotional rates, fees, and surcharges from about 9.7 million subscribers, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said today.
The enhanced transparency rules expand upon rules first implemented in 2010.To comply with the enhanced rules, home Internet providers and cellular carriers must make public disclosures that include the following:
The new rules also require ISPs to disclose more information about network performance, including packet loss statistics.
Pai said he offered a compromise to Clyburn, but he declined to say what his proposed compromise included. A spokesperson for Clyburn told Ars that the compromise would haverequired all ISPs of any size to report "commercial terms" such as prices, fees, and data caps publicly. But it also would have made ISPs with as many as 500,000 subscribers exempt from other requirements. That means many more ISPs would have been able to avoid reporting network performance statistics that can help customers assesswhether a network will be reliable.
"Commissioner Clyburn could simply not support a proposal that would have potentially left millions of additional consumers without transparency protections," the spokesperson said.
Before the vote, Clyburn made a plea to ISPs: "If you and your companies have the resources,then do the right thing, be transparent with consumers about what prices you charge, what feesyou assess, what data caps you impose, and your network performance practices. Yourcustomers, I am confident, will thank you."
Pai argued that requiring ISPs to "devote scarce resources" to filling out paperwork instead of deploying broadband is "not in the interest of the consumer."
"Ourdecision today will help the country's smaller providers... better serve their communities," Pai said. "I firmly believe that these ISPsshould spend their limited capital building out better broadband to rural America, not hiring lawyers and accountants to fill out unnecessary paperwork demanded by Washington, DC. With this action, the small businesses that are critical to injecting competition into the broadband marketplace will be better able to do just that."
Pai also supports overturningthe FCC's net neutrality order, which could wipe out the transparency requirements for providers of all sizes.
The FCC did take action to boost broadband deployment today in two bipartisan votes. One vote will provide $453 million in annual support to carriers over ten years to expand and improve 4G LTE mobile coverage in rural and tribal areas. This is a continuation of the FCC's Mobility Fund, which was created in 2011. The money will be distributed in an auction-style format to boost coverage "where the market cant sustain or extend service absent government support."
The FCC today also voted on rules for an upcoming reverse auction that will provide a total of nearly $2 billion over 10 years to expand home Internet service in rural areas.
Listing image by Getty Images | JW LTD
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FCC lets billion-dollar ISPs hide fees and data caps, Democrat says - Ars Technica
Thomas Weida, a retired Helena resident, announced he will seek the Democratic nomination for the seat occupied by Montana's lone U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke.
Weida, the eighth Democrat to make the announcement, said he decided to run after he realized Montanas core values are being threatened by party politics.
Rep. Ryan Zinke is waiting to be confirmed as President Donald Trumps nominee for interior secretary. If confirmed, Zinke will resign and the state will hold a special election in the following 100 days to choose a replacement.
The parties will hold a convention to select a candidate, with county-level committee members from each party deciding who runs in the special election.
Weida was raised in Deer Lodge and graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Montana in 1996. He has worked in management at UPS and later in construction and sales, which he said exposed him to the issues facing small business owners in the state.
Weida is the first to admit he lacks political experience and would have a lot to learn if elected. But hes confident in his ability to stand up for Montanans and make their voices heard as the states lone congressional representative.
Heres the thing. I dont think Im the most qualified politician for Montana, he said. I think I have chosen to live in this state and turned down better offers to move because I love the state and I love being part of the fabric.
He said he thinks most Montanans agree on core issues, such as keeping public lands public and creating good-paying jobs. He said hell also advocate for protecting social programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.
During the general election, many Republican constituents said they wanted an administration without career politicians and Weida said he thinks Democrats are also guilty of electing candidates to advance the party or who have been putting the same ideas forward.
Its been too much of the same, he said. Ive watched for the last nine elections as Democrats have put up candidates that make them feel good and feel good about themselves, but they dont work when it comes to a statewide election.
With only one representative in Montana, Weida said he can be the candidate that looks sensibly at the whole state and will prioritize the people over the party.
You cant play party politics when youre talking about one representative for an entire state, he said. 'Majority rules, minority rights' is a phrase I really believe in.
When asked what kind of specific solutions he had to major issues, such as health care, Weida said he was unsure.
The straight answer is none, he said. What I can say is Im vocal and accessible.
Weida said he wants to be able to tell his 14-year-old daughter he did everything in his power to protect the states values.
I want to pass on a state I was able to grow up in, he said.
Weida is hosting an event at Millers Crossing in Helena at 5 p.m. Monday to meet constituents and answer questions.
Other Democrats interested in the seat include state Rep. Amanda Curtis of Butte, state Rep. Kelly McCarthy of Billings, attorney John Meyer of Bozeman, musician Rob Quist of Creston, Gary Stein of Missoula, Link Neimark of Whitefish and Dan West of Missoula.
Republicans who are interested include former gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte of Bozeman, former Republican chairman Ken Miller of laurel, Dean Rehbein of Missoula, Sen. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls, Rep. Carl Glimm of Kila and Drew Turiano of East Helena.
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Helena Democrat Weida to join race for Zinke's seat - Helena Independent Record