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SAN FRANCISCO California Democrats are stoking a debate over Donald Trumps mental health and fitness for office, opening a new front in the resistance to the president but raising fears that the line of criticism could backfire.

As early talk of impeachment wanes and questions about Trumps stability have surfaced after his volatile responses to the violence in Charlottesville most recently by GOP Sen. Bob Corker and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Californias Democratic House delegation has seized on an issue that until recently was limited to the Internet fever swamps.

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Rep. Zoe Lofgren last week introduced a congressional resolution urging Trump to seek a medical and psychiatric evaluation to determine if he is unfit for the office. Rep. Jackie Speier called for invoking the 25th Amendment which empowers the vice president and Cabinet to remove a president who is incapable of serving after a press conference from Trump Tower in which the president appeared to equate white supremacists with counter-protesters. Both followed on the heels of Rep. Ted Lieus push for legislation requiring a psychiatrist at the White House.

[Trump] has demonstrated that his mental capacity and his erratic behavior are issues we need to be concerned about for our national security, Speier told POLITICO. And I think Im not the first person thats talked about it. Im just the first person thats been public about it.

Yet the concentrated focus on Trumps mental health worries many Democrats even in the blue-state stronghold of California who fear the party is expending too much energy obsessing over Trump at the expense of winning over voters to the party message.

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I certainly understand the effort and the drive to do something about the national catastrophe that were all experiencing with Trump, from sympathizing with neo-Nazis to weakening long standing alliances. Its clear that hes not fit for office, said Democratic consultant Tenoch Flores, a former California Democratic Party spokesman. But the unfortunate reality is that until enough Republicans get their heads out of the sand, whether in the Cabinet or in office, hes going to be sitting right where he is.

Lofgren, in an official statement, became the first member of the House to openly question whether Trump has early stage dementia asking whether the stress of office aggravated a mental illness crippling impulse control.

In her resolution, the San Jose-area congresswoman argued Trump has exhibited an alarming pattern of behavior and speech causing concern that a mental disorder may have rendered him unfit and unable to fulfill his constitutional duties.

The measure urges Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to quickly secure the services of medical and psychiatric professionals to examine the President.

Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland who has a background in clinical social work said Tuesday she supported Lofgrens resolution, and has also signed on to a different bill, introduced by Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, which sets the stage for the president to be removed from office if he was found mentally or physically unfit to serve.

While we cant talk about any diagnosis, we can look at behavior, she said, adding that it was time to confront what appears to be a serious issue based on the presidents statements and actions. We need to begin this discussion and have this debate.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Online, Democrats have buzzed recently about events that have gone viral on social media including a YouTube moment in which the president descends from the steps of Air Force One and appears not to recognize the presidential limousine parked right in front of him. He wanders away until he is shown to the car, the video shows.

Another video moment shows the president leaving a White House ceremony to sign executive orders without signing the documents.

Some critics point to a well-publicized report that reviewed Trumps speeches and interviews from more than a decade ago which found that his speech patterns were more consistent, logical and compete than they are today as evidence of a problem.

Veteran strategist Roger Salazar, who served as a spokesman for Californias Jerry Brown, President Bill Clinton and presidential candidate Al Gore, agrees that Trumps mental state is questionable but warns that Democrats must tread carefully.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Trump is out of his mind, he said. There's no question he is unfit for office. But I'd rather Democrats focus our energies on beating him and his allies at the ballot box.

While acknowledging the sentiment behind Lofgrens resolution, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi suggested the party needed to focus on other issues.

What is necessary right now is for us to reach into peoples homes with a better deal. They want to know what were doing to make the future better for them: better paychecks, lower costs. So while the behavior of the person in the White House attracts attention, we have to focus on jobs, she said at a San Francisco event to push the Democrats new Better Deal agenda on Womens Equality Day.

Like Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, was cool to the question when asked about the 25th Amendment at a San Francisco business forum last week.

Its hard for me to see that as a practical matter, based upon what we know so far, he said.

The country could expect lengthy legal wrangling and debate over the matter, he noted, in part because its not a particularly well-written amendment. Schiff explained that Pence temporarily would become the acting president if Trump was removed, but the president himself could contest that decision. Congress could then vote to permanently strip the presidential powers from the president and transfer them to the vice president.

But, Schiff said, even if Democrats took back the House in 2018, I dont know what we would pick.

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Excerpt from:
California Democrats lead attack over Trump's mental health - Politico

Last month, congressional Democrats unveiled their Better Deal agenda ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, promising new and improved ideas to push the party forward. But while some of their policies might be seen as improvements, not much is new.

[M]any Americans dont know what we stand for, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in the New York Times previewing this agenda.

In the last two elections, Schumer said, Democrats failed to articulate a strong, bold economic program for the middle class and those working hard to get there. We also failed to communicate our values to show that we were on the side of working people, not the special interests. We will not repeat the same mistake.

Our agenda is focused on efforts to create jobs and raise incomes for American workers, to lower the cost of living for American families, and to build an economy that gives every American the tools to succeed in the 21st century, added House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in the Washington Post.

But many of the "Better Deal" proposals are similar to what Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigned on and talked about over the last several years, although congressional Democrats contend their new plans are bolder.

Take, for example, their call to stop price-gouging on prescription drugs.

Were going to fight for rules to stop prescription drug price gouging and demand that drug companies justify price increases to the public, Schumer said.

But here was Obama on price gouging when he signed an executive order aimed at reducing drug shortages. The shortage of prescription drugs drives up costs, leaves consumers vulnerable to price gouging and threatens our health and safety, he said. This is a problem we cant wait to fix.

In September 2015, after the price of a specialty drug was raised from $13.50 to $750 overnight, candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted, Price gouging like this in the specialty drug market is outrageous. The next day, she proposed a $250 per month cap on drug spending for Americans with chronic illnesses and conditions.

The Democrats "Better Deal" also targets monopolies and big corporations. We will demand that proposed mergers meet tough new standards to protect competition before approval, Pelosi said.

Yet last year, the Clinton campaign released a fact sheet calling for a new commitment to promote competition, address excessive concentration and the abuse of economic power, and strengthen antitrust laws and enforcement.

Another parallel: Democrats are calling for tax credits to businesses that provide apprenticeships and training for unemployed Americans a strategy Schumer says will bring millions back into the labor force or retrained to secure full-time, higher-paying work.

Yet apprenticeships were featured in Clintons 100-day jobs plan, which she presented at a Las Vegas campaign rally last August: I want to give every business a $1,500 tax credit if they will train apprentices pay those apprentices while theyre getting trained so more people can take advantage of that opportunity.

And then theres Democrats more recent call for an independent trade prosecutor to combat trade cheating.

Sound familiar? Here was Clinton in June 2016: I am going to appoint a trade prosecutor who will report to the president so we are going to end the abuse of our market, our workers, our people.

Other similarities between the "Better Deal" and past Obama and Clinton proposals: Investing in Americas infrastructure and raising the minimum wage.

While Democratic rhetoric on prescription-drug costs, job training, infrastructure and the minimum wage might not be new, a Democratic official tells NBC News that their "Better Deal" agenda aims to better emphasize these proposals as well as provide the partys candidates with a unified message.

Our main job is to give broad, big picture research to our candidates to help them personalize it, localize it, and see the importance of talking about the economy in their districts, says Meredith Kelly, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Kelly adds that Democratic polling concluded that Democratic and swing voters are deeply dissatisfied with the direction of the economy and their place in it. And many of these voters priorities, Kelly says, are reflected in the "Better Deal."

The idea, said Kelly, is to communicate a stronger economic message so that [the Democratic Party] can be as competitive as possible with Republicans when it comes to our trustworthiness on the economy and jobs.

Original post:
Democrats' 'Better Deal' Priorities Aren't Exactly New Ideas - NBCNews.com

Texas lawmaker Veasey sees himself as the Democratic party's future News & Observer Rep. Marc Veasey thinks he's the future of the Democratic Party: Moderate, African-American and focused on helping Democrats reconnect with the working-class voters who abandoned them for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. In recent weeks, he's also ... and more »

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Texas lawmaker Veasey sees himself as the Democratic party's future - News & Observer

Following the violence of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Democrats in the Michigan House of Representatives are stepping up to the plate, pushing for legislation that would require African-American history to be taught in all public schools as a means to combat racism.

We all have to do a better job of getting to know each other and understand each other, said Democratic Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, the lead sponsor of the bill. But it starts in our schools in educating children properly so theyre able to push back when they hear lies pushed forward about different races of people.

Gay-Dagnogo in March introduced the bill, which would require that students in all grades be taught about the history and contributions of African Americans in the development of the U.S. and the world, MLive reports. The horrific acts of violence in Charlottesville reinforce the need for such a requirement, the Detroit Democrat says.

In Michigan, there is a set of expectations for social studies content that does include lessons on slavery and the civil rights movement, as well as the continent of Africa and its people. But Gay-Dagnogo says that those lessons likely vary depending on the district and do not provide a clear understanding of the contributions that African Americans have made to this country and their involvement prior to slavery, post-Reconstruction and on, something she wants to change.

Even after the civil rights era, theres nothing that highlights the positivity and the accomplishments of African Americans in science and engineering and building this country, she said.

Rep. Jeremy Moss, a co-sponsor of the bill, noted that while a more involved education in African-American history is not going to drastically change race relations overnight, it is taking a step in the right direction.

Decent Americans want to think that Nazis and the KKK are from an era of history thats long gone, but those bigots who rallied in Charlottesville were my age, Moss said. So something is happening here that we arent teaching the next generation about the perils of white supremacy.

Read more at MLive.

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Democrats in Mich. House of Representatives Push to Make African-American History Required Learning Following ... - The Root

President Trump accused Obstructionist Democrats on Friday of hurting national security by waging court fights against his policies, in an apparent reference to the battle over his travel ban and other measures that could get renewed attention following the terror attacks in Spain.

The Obstructionist Democrats make Security for our country very difficult. They use the courts and associated delay at all times. Must stop! Trump tweeted, later adding: Radical Islamic Terrorism must be stopped by whatever means necessary! The courts must give us back our protective rights. Have to be tough!

Moments earlier, Trump had said U.S. security officials are on the lookout for any signs of trouble, while assuring that Americas borders are far tougher than ever before.

The president issued the message as Spanish officials make arrests and hunt for more suspects in Thursdays attacks that killed at least 14 in central Barcelona and the resort of Cambrils.

Homeland Security and law enforcement are on alert & closely watching for any sign of trouble. Our borders are far tougher than ever before! Trump tweeted.

Despite his assurance on the border, his administration remains locked in a court battle with opponents of his travel ban.

The Supreme Court plans to take up the case in the fall, while allowing portions of it to go into effect.

In June, the Supreme Court partially lifted lower court injunctions against Trumps executive order that had temporarily banned visas for citizens of six countries. The justices ruling exempted applicants from the ban if they could prove a bona fide relationship with a U.S. person or entity, but the court offered only broad guidelines as to how that should be defined.

The Trump administration then set new criteria for new visa applicants from Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen saying they must prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the United States to be eligible. The same requirement, with some exceptions, holds for would-be refugees from all nations who are still awaiting approval for admission to the U.S.

In Spain, a fourth person was arrested on Friday in connection with the terror attacks.

The death toll rose to 14 after a woman died following an injury when a car plowed into pedestrians in Cambrils, about 80 miles south of Barcelona. She is the first fatality of the attack in the popular seaside town.

Police shot and killed five suspects who were equipped with bomb belts in Cambrils. The belts were found later to be fake. It was not immediately clear if the Barcelona van driver was among the arrested or dead suspects.

Local governmentconfirmed the incident in Cambrils was linked to the attack in central Barcelona, which wounded more than 100.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Trump slams Obstructionist Democrats as danger to national ...