Mediaboss Marketing

Democrats and Progressives in Vermonts largest city are vying for control of the city council this Town Meeting Day. Eight of the 12 seats on Burlingtons City Council are up for a vote on Tuesday.

There are 14 candidates across the eight races, with three incumbent candidates running unopposed: Ward 6 Democrat Karen Paul, Ward 3 Progressive Brian Pine and Ward 7 Progressive/Democrat Ali Dieng.

The Progressive Party is looking to expand its clout and win an outright majority. The party ousted two incumbent councilors last year on Town Meeting Day and is hoping to repeat that performance this year.

Josh Wronski, executive director of the Vermont Progressive Party, said this years slate is made up of a number of young, political newcomers who are passionate about Burlington.

Were seeing so many young people, people in their early 20s or early 30s. Theyre wanting to say, 'No, this is our time too, and we actually have a vision and a voice we want to have on the city council.'" Josh Wronski, Executive Director, Vermont Progressive Party

Were seeing so many young people, people in their early 20s or early 30s, he said. Theyre wanting to say, 'No, this is our time too, and we actually have a vision and a voice we want to have on the city council."

Wronski pointed to a number of issues in the city, like the long-delayed mall redevelopment and turmoil at the police department, as reasons why more young people are getting involved in city politics.

But Democrats also see an opportunity to pick up seats this election and tip the council in their favor.

Sam Donnelly, the chair of the Burlington Democrats, called this years council races kinda like a standoff, but he said he was optimistic about the Democrats chances.

When I look at the path to how we get there, I think we have competitive races in Wards 8, 1 and 2, he said. Id say the party is heavily focusing over there.

"When I look at the path to how we get there, I think we have competitive races in Wards 8, 1 and 2. I'd say the party is heavily focusing over there." Sam Donnelly, Burlington Democrats Chair

In Ward 1, Independent Sharon Bushor, a long-serving councilor, faces two challengers: Democrat Jillian Scannell and Progressive Zoraya Hightower. Meanwhile, Democrat Adam Roof, who until this election ran as an independent, is up against Progressive Jane Stromberg.

Ward 2 Progressive Max Tracy, the incumbent, faces Democrat Ryan Nick. In Ward 5, Progressive Nate Lantieri is challenging Democratic incumbent Chip Mason.

This years Town Meeting Day could also see the end of an era: Kurt Wright, the sole Republican on the council, opted not to run. In December, Wright, the co-host of a morning radio show, said he wouldnt seek re-election in Ward 4 because, due to federal broadcasting rules, hed have to leave his radio job for two months to campaign.

However, there is still a chance Wright will stay on the council: A citizen group in has staged a Write in Wright campaign. Wright, who is not involved with the effort, told Seven Days hed serve on the council if he won.

The two candidates who appear on the ballot in Ward 4 are Sarah Carpenter, who won the Democratic and Progressive endorsements, and Independent Ericka Redic. Redic ran last year in the North District race, but dropped out and endorsed Democrat Franklin Paulino, the eventual winner.

Follow this link:
Democrats And Progressives Compete For Control Of Burlington City Council - Vermont Public Radio

To Attorney General Bill Barr, a large percentage of the American electorate amounts to nothing more than 25-year-olds living in the governments basement, focusing [their] energies on obtaining a larger allowance rather than getting a job and moving out.

The chief law enforcement officer of the United States railed against progressives in a speech to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention on Wednesday, callingliberalsmilitant and totalitarian. While they seek power through the democratic process, he said, their policy agenda has become more aggressively collectivist, socialist, and explicitly revolutionary.

The comment is reminiscent of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romneys 2012 remarks that 47 percent of Americans have a sense of entitlement, are dependent upon government, and believe that they are victims. But Barrs statements go even further.

Barr went on to quote Alexis de Tocqueville, who feared that American democracy would allow people to rely on the state to take care of thema common but misguided belief about social welfare in general. Barr then made the tenuous logical leap that dependence on the government is a sort of despotism in its own right.

It would be totalitarianism beneath a veneer of democratic choice, he said.

Watch the video below:

More:
Bill Barr Unloads a Wild Theory About Progressive Politics - Mother Jones

As the reality begins to set in that Bernie Sanders is likely to be the Democratic nominee, some loyal progressives are coming around on the Vermont senator.

It is interesting to watch the grand reconciliation and we are largely in the baby steps phase of the conversion but it is nevertheless noticeable.

Paul Krugman, Nobel laureate and opinion writer for the New York Times, worked through the new reality in real time, tweeting after Sanders win in the Nevada Caucuses, Well, Bernie Sanders is now the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination. Lots of things to say about that, but the most important is that he is NOT a left-leaning version of Trump. Even if you disagree with his ideas, hes not a wannabe authoritarian ruler.

Matthew Yglesias of Vox looked to calm Democrats down in a column titled Mainstream Democrats shouldnt fear Bernie Sanders,

At the end of the day, writes Yglesias, Sanderss record is not nearly as scary as many establishment Democrats fear. His revolution rhetoric doesnt make sense to me, but hes been an effective legislator for a long time, and he knows how to get things done

Some of his big ideas are not so hot on the merits, but its not worth worrying about them because the political revolution is so unrealistic.

If you are not reassured by the Vox writers assurances, you are not alone.

Jill Filipovic, a popular feminist, lawyer and author, implored her Twitter followers to put the Sanders surge in context.

If youre a Democrat who thinks Bernie would be a bad president and get nothing done, she tweeted. I submit that getting nothing done is a helluva lot better than Trump implementing even one more inch of his agenda.

If Bernie wins the Dem nomination, she followed up, The question is: Even in the most extreme outcome Bernie is able to implement his entire agenda would you rather live in an America that is akin to socially democratic Denmark, or an America that is like any authoritarian fascist state?

Like Trump or hate him, if hes trying to helm an authoritarian fascist state hes not doing it right. Loud criticisms like Filipovics tweeted out to almost 115,000 followers, amplified by over 2,000 retweets, and reprinted in free newspapers would not be part of our daily discourse.

In fairness, not all progressives are coalescing to the inevitable reality of Bernie Sanders, and some are speaking out loudly about the socialist from Vermont. However, the willingness of some to misstate the danger of President Trump in order to blot away the horror of the Sanders ideology and agenda is unhelpful and a little dangerous.

Donald J. Trump is not now and has never been an ideologue, other than roughly embracing the concept of America first.

Trumps formative years were spent building businesses, hotels, golf courses and promoting his own brand around the world.

Sanders has spent his entire adult life preaching the benefits of socialism. To describe Bernie Sanders as a Marxist, communist or socialist is far more accurate than the dark descriptors employed to sum up Donald Trump.

In the last 100 years, it is estimated that communist states killed as many as 100 million people. It began practically with the Bolshevik Revolution and the dark rise of the Soviet Union.

Central planners rely on conformity at any cost and that historically looks a lot worse than any Donald Trump tweet imaginable.

Read more from the original source:
Progressives dismiss Sanders revolutionary rhetoric - Boston Herald

Over at Vox, Matt Yglesias shares a new survey from Data for Progress about public support for various progressive policies. Yglesias is able to find a silver lining here, but I sure dont. Heres a breakdown of all the issues that scored at least 55 percent support:

DFP read each respondent an argument for and against each policy, and as you can see this tanked the results: not a single one polled higher than 61 percent. Even vague, feel-good no-brainers like clean air, lead paint cleanup, and stopping Wall Street looting couldnt break the 61 percent barrier, and thats crazy. I mean, whos against any of that?

Of the other five, two are pretty small bore: allowing the feds to broaden the licensing of generic drugs and allowing police or family to petition a judge to take away guns from someone who presents a danger. So that leaves a grand total of three policy proposals that are both meaningful and poll above 55 percent:

Credit card interest rates are, in practice, governed by a Supreme Court decision from 1978, so theres little that a president could do about that. Legalizing marijuana would be hard since its governed by international treaties.

So theres only one thing left: guaranteeing 12 weeks of family leave. This is popular, and as far as I know, its also constitutional.

The DFP list is pretty thorough, which means that this is it. Theres precisely one issue thats (a) popular, (b) feasible, and (c) big enough to be a campaign issue. Medicare for All polls below 50 percent. Canceling student loans polls below 50 percent. A carbon tax polls below 50 percent. The Green New Deal polls below 50 percent. Border decriminalization polls way below 50 percent.

Theres really not much to work with here. I chose 55 percent as a cutoff because I was being generous: the truth is that almost anything below 60 percent is likely to be a loser once Republicans start going after it. I just dont see any progressive issues that look like sure campaign winners.

But this isnt as bad as it looks. There are plenty of issues that are on the edge and might be a net positive with suburban voters that Democrats need. Whats more, policies like this arent likely to be what wins or loses the 2020 election anyway. November is going to be a referendum on Donald Trump, and what Democrats really need is good ways to convince folks on the center right that Trump is even worse than they think. Maybe DFP will poll that next.

Excerpt from:
Progressives Are Short on Popular Campaign Promises This Year - Mother Jones

Progressives in the Colorado legislature lost part of their housing agenda on Wednesday as other Democrats joined Republicans to reject a renters rights bill.

House Bill 20-1141 would have limited the late fees that landlords can charge, and it would have granted an eight-day grace period for late rent.

"Many people are being led to a cycle of debt, and homelessness even, because of exorbitant late fees, said state Rep. Yadira Caraveo, who co-sponsored the bill with state Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and state Sen. Julie Gonzales, all Democrats.

Other Democrats skepticism was evident throughout the hearing at the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee.

They signed it knowing what was going to happen on the third day? Democratic state Rep. Tom Sullivan asked one speaker.

An attorney for Colorado Legal Services described one client who was facing $600 of late fees on top of a $2 late fee. Other advocates said they had encountered late fees ranging up to 100 percent of their monthly rent. There are no Colorado laws specifically governing late fees.

We know that evictions create a domino effect, said Aubrey Hasvold of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. There's so many of us living paycheck to paycheck, and emergencies happen.

Landlords and property managers argued that the bill would erode one of their most important powers.

Were teaching residents to be late, every single month," said Aquino Cheatem Laughlin, an opponent of the bill. "Once youre paying on the 10th, youre going to pay on the 10th the next month."

Landlords argued they have to meet their own mortgage payments and utility bills on time.

Annemarie Lunde manages properties for out-of-state owners. If late fees were compromised, she warned, they would be forced to sell their investment property, because the cost to hold will be too great.

The average Colorado landlord charges a $79 late fee about 7 percent of the average rent, according to research by Colorado Apartment Association. The revised bill would have cut that to 5 percent, with only one late fee allowed per payment.

Democrats on the committee said they were worried about side effects for low-cost housing, especially mobile home parks. Would they charge higher security deposits instead, or require automatic deposits?

Those are the people on the ground who are providing affordable housing, Democratic state Rep. Marc Snyder said.

The sponsors argued that they were aiming at bad actors who charge exorbitant fees and currently face no specific limits. People with low incomes often have little choice but to sign onto unfair contracts, supporters argued.

The bill also would have changed utility bills by eliminating the practice of landlords dividing up one big monthly bill among all tenants.

That was a reaction to complaints about unpredictable utility billing for example, a neighbor's high water use could drive everyone's bills up. Landlords use the common billing approach for older rentals that don't have individual meters.

Under the bill, landlords could still have passed on utility costs by building them into the rent. That would be more predictable for tenants, while landlords would lose month-to-month flexibility.

Other housing bills are still alive, including:

Read more:
Progressives Just Lost Part Of Their Housing Platform In Colorado - Colorado Public Radio