Democrats for Social Credit Deputy Leader Chris Leitch
Democrats for Social Credit Deputy Leader Chris Leitch at a public meeting in Warkworth, detailing how banks create money out of thin air when they make loans. While the meeting was convened...
By: Amanda Vickers
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Democrats for Social Credit Deputy Leader Chris Leitch - Video
Why Civil Asset Forfeiture Is Uniting Democrats and Republicans
Civil asset forfeiture gives law enforcement agencies the power to seize property and money if it #39;s suspected of being used in a crime. But police departments have been abusing the practice,...
By: The Daily Signal
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Why Civil Asset Forfeiture Is Uniting Democrats and Republicans - Video
Are there any democrats on Mt. Rushmore?
At Speaker #39;s Corner we encourage debate and communication, especially when opinions differ. We don #39;t ask you to think like us....we just ask that you think. Send your topics and questions to...
By: Ella Cushion
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Are there any democrats on Mt. Rushmore? - Video
The war hero. The star fundraiser. The popular governor. The toughened ex-senators.
These are the blue-chip recruits many Democrats believe are essential to winning back control of the U.S. Senate in 2016 after a midterm drubbing cost them their majority.
Less than four months after the painful losses, Democratic officials have begun charting a path back to Senate control that runs through more than half a dozen blue and purple states where the presidential campaign is expected to boost Democratic turnout. But even in that favorable terrain, the party faithful fear they could fall short if marquee challengers dont step forward, since their talent pool is shallow and they are trying to unseat a well-prepared group of Republican senators.
The bench is short, but the aces are strong, said Democratic donor John Morgan. He summed up the all-or-nothing outlook with another baseball analogy: All you need is a right-hander that throws 99 mph, and you dont need a bench.
Needing to gain four seats five if a Republican wins the White House to reclaim the majority, Democrats are under intense pressure to enlist top contenders. Since House Republicans hold their widest majority in decades and are early favorites to stay in power, the fight for the Senate stands to determine whether the next president will face a split Congress or one controlled completely by the GOP.
Candidates matter, said former Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell (D). The lesson of 2010 is that even in the wave election, where Republicans nominated candidates with flaws, they lost. So we cant just nominate anybody. Weve got to find really good candidates.
Interviews with more than a dozen state-based and national Democrats revealed an early wish list headlined by well-known former Ohio governor Ted Strickland; Rep. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), a decorated Iraq war veteran who lost her legs during a combat mission; popular New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan; former senator Russell Feingold (Wis.), a liberal favorite; Rep. Patrick Murphy (Fla.), a talented fundraiser from a swing district; and former senator Kay Hagan (N.C.), who lost a close reelection race.
None have ruled themselves in or out. They will be closely watched in the coming months, with some Democrats already fretting about recruiting at a time when recent down-ballot losses have thinned the ranks of promising prospects.
Im worried, of course, said Peter Buttenwieser, a longtime Democratic donor. But on the other hand, I have confidence that when the time for the ballgame rolls around, we will have those kinds of people.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee officials declined to discuss which possible challengers the committee is looking at and dismissed suggestions that they cant win back the Senate without landing recruits who have run statewide before. Their message: Its early.
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Democrats seek star recruits to try to win back control of the Senate
Democrats on a congressional oversight panel are stepping up their investigation into how well states are regulating the disposal of oil and gas waste, citing continuing public concern about the potential environmental and health risks of hydraulic fracturing.
Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., the lead Democrat on a health subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, says he will be pressing environmental agencies in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia for fuller answers to his panel's questions on their level of inspections and enforcement actions. Republicans on the committee, including subcommittee chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, have not yet taken a position on whether to join the investigation, citing in part jurisdictional questions.
Of particular concern is making sure their waterways are not contaminated by waste from fracking, which uses millions of gallons of high-pressure water mixed with sand and chemicals to break apart rocks rich in oil and gas. That process leaves behind a host of chemicals, sludge and other potentially toxic fluids.
Cartwright is also asking for a state accounting of how complaints from local residents about health effects are handled.
He said state replies so far have been disappointing, mostly listing state regulations without discussing enforcement. Cartwright said the responses did little to allay questions about potential gaps in state oversight that the federal government may need to address. Currently, federal regulations on hazardous waste generally exempt those fluids related to fracking.
"I remain committed to this investigation, and I am looking for answers, not a collection of public files," Cartwright told The Associated Press.
The review was launched in October, focusing first on Pennsylvania, the third-largest natural gas producer. Democrats were reviewing whether to extend their inquiry to other high-fracking states, which include California, Colorado and Texas.
It comes amid heightened public attention on the environmental and public health impacts of fracking, which has unlocked billions of dollars of gas reserves and a boom in production, jobs and profits. Regulators contend that overall, water and air pollution problems are rare, but environmental groups and some scientists say there hasn't been enough research. Last December, New York said it would ban fracking, citing unexplored health risks, while scores of cities in other states have considered bans.
In Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection under then-Republican Gov. Tom Corbett responded to Cartwright's inquiry last fall in part by sending copies of its state code.
New Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has since reinstated a ban on new natural gas drilling on Pennsylvania state parks and forests that sit atop the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation and announced plans for a natural gas severance tax. A spokeswoman for the department, Julie Lalo, said it has not yet heard from Cartwright but "absolutely agrees that managing waste generated by oil and gas development is a serious issue that requires strong oversight."
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Democrats seek to step up fracking oversight