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Jewish community centers across the United States are operating in a climate of fear after a fifth waveof bomb threatsaimed at Jews on Monday that targeted at least 13 community centers and eight schools in a dozen states.

A top Trump surrogate hedge funder Anthony Scaramucci, who fundraised for theTrump campaign, joined his transition team, and was in the runningfor a senior role in the White House took to Twitter on Tuesday to imply that these threats could be coming from Democrats, rather than from a radical far-right wing that has been emboldened by Trumps rhetoric and staff choices.

In his first tweet, he referred to a report about Democratic Party-aligned activists who staged raucous protests at Trump events a far cry from calling in bomb threats against a religious minority.

Scaramuccis tweetsare only the latest sign that the Trump administration, those close to the president, and the wider Republican Party are fundamentally unwillingto either acknowledge or challenge the wave of far-right hate crimesin the United States that has in recent monthstargeteda wide set of religious and racial minority groups.

Part of their strategy has been to deny any links between Trumps rhetoric, far-right ideology, and the recent hate crimes.

Trump ally and former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum appeared on CNN last week to imply, without evidence, that the wave of antisemitic hate crimes is largely coming from Muslim-Americans. Following a neo-Nazi march in Montana, Republican lawmakers there are advancing legislation to crack down on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement that seeks to hold Israel accountable for human rights abuses an implication that the Arab American-led movement is responsible for anti-Semitism.

The Trump administration reacted callously last week following a hate crime in Kansas that gained global attention, where a man shot and killed a man of Indian origin and wounded two others, believing them to be Iranian.

When asked whether there was any link between the shooters beliefs and Trumps harsh rhetoric against Muslims, the White House declined to even consider the possibility.Any loss of life is tragic, Press Secretary Sean Spicer replied, but Im not going to get into, like, that kind of to suggest that theres any correlation [to Trumpsrhetoric] I think is a bit absurd.

Spicer was also asked last week if Trump condemns Islamophobia in general, and he offered no comment, instead making an awkward and telling pivot to the administrations agenda against radical Islam.

If you come here or want to express views that seek to do our country or people harm, hes going to fight it aggressively, he replied to a question about Islamaphobia. So theres a big difference between preventing attacks and making sure that we keep this country safe, so that there is no loss of life.

Top photo: Scaramucci at Trump Tower on Jan. 4, 2017, in New York City.

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Trump Surrogate Suggests Democrats Could Be Behind Bomb Threats Against Jews - The Intercept

The Democratic Party, with Thomas Perez as its new chair, vows to seek unity, transparency, Trump resistance, grassroots participation, and most importantly, make sure we talk about our positive message of inclusion and opportunity... to that big tent of the Democratic Party.

But this message is shrouded with myths that must be challenged if we are to take back the country from financial and corporate elites... and from Trump.

For the Clinton Democrats, party unity means that the Sanders forces recognize that they lost. For the sake of unity, the Sanders rebels should moderate their relentless attacks on the super-rich and runaway inequality so that the party can concentrate its fire on Trump.

The goal must be to win back the moderate suburban Trump voters who may soon suffer from buyers remorse. Now is not the time to scare voters with anti-corporate rhetoric and broad social democratic programs like free higher education and Medicare for all. Uniting against Trump is all that matters.

The energy of the Democratic party comes precisely from those who cherish the hard-hitting vision that Sanders put forth. There is a reason why the Sanders rallies were ten times the size of Hillarys campaign events. Sanders and his followers want to take on the corporate elites both inside and outside the Democratic Party. It would be a disaster to bury that battle under the milquetoast mantra of party unity.

Myth #2: The moderate middle is the key to victory

The party establishment is still clinging to the triangulation model perfected by Bill Clinton as he cuddled up to the Wall Street. Ever since, the Democratic Party has tried to tailor its program to independent suburban voters and wealthy donors.

That model no longer works.

The Tea Party turned the Republican Party to the right by totally obliterating moderate Republicans. The 2016 election further shows that the battle for the center is history. Instead elections are won by reaching those who reject the established order that has left them behind. Sanders expressed that revolt from the left and Trump rode that revolt from the right to win Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Myth #3: Economic empowerment

The mantra of the corporate Democrats is economic empowerment making sure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed. Their position is based on the following assumptions, all of which are wrong:

Myth #4: The Sanders Program is too radical for America

Sanders-style socialism will not be accepted in America. It will be red-baited to death, leading to the defeat of any politician who supports such programs. So the Democratic Party should not promote the Sanders agenda.

The Cold War is over. Young voters could care less about the socialist label. The Sanders campaign out-polled Hillary among every shade and color of under-30 voters. Free higher education sounds pretty good to those loaded with student debt.

Similarly, the time has passed for merely defending Obamacare and its dependence on private insurance companies. Medicare for All is a much sounder and cheaper program. Does anyone care about their private insurance company? Only those who work for them.

Even the Clinton wing understands the attraction of the Sanders agenda. But they waddle up to it with so many qualifications that the appeal is lost.

Myth #5 Americans really dont care about income inequality

Americans cherish the idea of getting rich, admire those who become so, and therefore dont want to upset the income ladder.

Its certainly true that most people hold conflicting opinions about wealth in America. However, it is also true that most Americans just dont have access to information about how extreme inequality really is.

For example, surveys show that the typical American thinks the CEO/average worker wage gap is about 45 to 1. That means if the average worker could afford one home and one car, a CEO could afford 45 cars and 45 homes. Not bad.

Well, the 45 to 1 ratio is true....for 1970. Today the ratio is an incomprehensible 844 to 1 (844 homes to your one!).

Once Americans understand the depth of the runaway inequality problem, they want to reverse these obscene gaps. (If you want to help spread the word see here.)

Myth #6: The Party needs donations from the wealthy

To compete with the well-heeled Republicans it is imperative that the Democrats curry favor with wealthy donors. They have no choice.

The Sanders campaign raised more money than the Clinton machine by relying on an enthusiastic army of small donors. To do so again would require having the party and its candidates take on runaway inequality rather than wishing it away.

Myth #7: Write-off the white working class

The path to victory no longer depends on white working class voters and their declining unions. While white working people wont be ignored entirely, U.S. demographics are trending to people of color. Besides, theres an inherent nationalistic/racist streak that runs through white working people that makes them prone to Trumpism.

Arguably, this is the most pernicious myth. The white working class is far from monolithic. To use the term as a blanket phrase (as liberal columnist Paul Krugman does regularly. see here) is just plain wrong.

While some white working people are indeed anti-immigrant and prone to racism, most are not. In fact millions of these voters supported Obama twice, voted for Bernie in the primaries and then voted for Trump out of sheer frustration. Those Obama-to-Sanders-to-Trump voters are why Hillary lost so much of the Rust Belt (see here.)

These voters can be reached but only if the Democrats break away from their corporate backers and adopt a Sanders-like program. Rather than writing them off, the Party should develop a vast educational effort to engage these disaffected voters in discussion. TV ads and vacuous platform proposals wont work. We need live discussions in educational settings to open up a real dialogue. (If youd like to join in such efforts, see here.)

Will Tom Perez and the Democrats break through these debilitating myths? The jury is out.

Les Leopold, the director of the Labor Institute, is currently working with unions and community organizations to build the educational infrastructure of a new anti-Wall Street movement. His new book Runaway Inequality: An Activist Guide to Economic Justice serves as a text for this campaign. All proceeds go to support these educational efforts.

Read more:
7 Myths That Plague The Democrats - Huffington Post

Maryland Democrats enlisted retired Rep. Barney Frank, one of the architects of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, to bring some national party support to their latest proposal to hold the Trump administration to account.

Democrats in the General Assembly are proposing to create a commission to look out for moves in Washington to undo Dodd-Frank and other financial rules put into place as a response to the economy-wrecking housing crisis of 2008. President Donald J. Trump has said he thinks the regulations stop banks from being able to make as many loans, hurting businesses.

Del. Bill Frick, the House Majority leader and sponsor of the legislation, introduced Frank and an Obama-era Treasury official to a committee hearing as financial protection "luminaries."

Frank, who represented a district in Massachusetts for three decades before retiring in 2013, told Maryland lawmakers he appreciated their efforts. Frank has spoken out repeatedly in defense of the law he championed in recent weeks, but said it's the first time he's come to a state capitol to testify on a piece of legislation connected to it.

"I would hope it would be done widely because people tend to take certain things for granted," he told members of the House Economic Matters Committee.

State Democrats have been seeking ways to use the new president as a foil. Trump was deeply unpopular in Maryland in the November election and remains so, according to a poll released last week. With deep differences between many Democrats and the administration in Washington over policies including on immigration, the environment and health care state Democrats want to motivate supporters as they plot to unseat popular Republican Gov. Larry Hogan next year.

Ahead of Trump making an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, more than 100 people rallied on Lawyers Mall by the State House in Annapolis, waving signs showing, variously, support for Planned Parenthood, backing of the Affordable Care Act and opposition to fracking.

The House of Delegates and the state Senate moved quickly this month to pass a resolution empowering Attorney General Brian E. Frosh to sue the federal government and have pressed the governor to take public positions on national issues. Democrats also back a suite of legislative measures to blunt the impacts of policy changes made by Trump, including a bill that would prohibit law enforcement agencies in Maryland from aiding deportation efforts.

The financial regulation commission idea is one modest part of that package. It would create a small body of lawmakers and members of the public to scrutinize moves in Washington to deregulate banks and other financial institutions and require it to report back to the General Assembly with ideas on how to blunt those changes. The commission itself would not have any regulatory powers.

Sen. Jim Rosapepe, the bill's sponsor in the upper chamber, said at a news conference that undoing the protections in the Dodd-Frank law would "unleash the wolves of Wall Street again."

"Delegate Frick and I have introduced this legislation to set up a watchdog to protect Marylanders from President Trump's plan to deregulate Wall Street and endanger Marylanders as we were endangered 10 years ago," he said.

Senate Minority Leader J.B. Jennings, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, called the effort "wasted time." Trump, he said, can't repeal Dodd-Frank without Congress.

"Checks and balances are keeping everything in line. The travel ban, guess what? The courts interceded and it stopped. People need to take a deep breath, and, again, let our ... members of Congress, let them do their job. Legislators in Annapolis, let them stay focused on issues in the state of Maryland."

Mileah Kromer, a political scientist who runs the Goucher Poll, said Democrats need to be careful to strike the right balance between taking positions on national issues while shaping policies that address the concerns of Maryland residents.

Polling results Kromer released Monday showed that about a quarter of respondents think Democrats in Maryland are spending too much time talking about Trump's early executive actions, with about a third saying they have the balance right and a further quarter saying they're doing too little. The risk, Kromer said, is nudging people from the second category into the first.

"They'll have to pick and choose their battles," she said.

Republican lawmakers and the governor's office have said that they're focused on Maryland and have urged their Democratic colleagues to follow suit.

Financial regulation also might be a poor vehicle for exciting voters. While banking policies have important economic consequences and have become a staple issue on the left, they're harder to grapple with than job creation programs or policies to revitalize manufacturing.

Frank, though, said there is a role states can play in keeping an eye on banks and setting rules for them to play by. Before the financial crisis, the federal government had taken much power away from the states, Frank said, but the Dodd-Frank bill handed a great deal of it back.

"We restored to the states significant power," Frank said.

Baltimore Sun reporter Erin Cox contributed to this article.

iduncan@baltsun.com

twitter.com/iduncan

Continued here:
Barney Frank joins Maryland Democrats pushing bill to scrutinize Trump on banks - Baltimore Sun

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Its time for Democrats to admit without equivocation that they lost the 2016 national election. Donald Trump, a man they find utterly contemptible, is Americas 45thpresident. Barring catastrophe, he likely will occupy the White House for the next four years.

Democrats also need to abandon their self-defeating campaign to polarize the American electorate and to block progress on legislation in the new GOP-dominated Congress.

A recent Harris poll has found that nearly three-quarters of the American public wants the Democrats to work with Trumps fledgling administration not to resist it. Thats actually a sobering message for both parties and for Trump.

It means the public wants the politicians to stop the finger-pointing and to begin working together in a bipartisan fashion to get Americas business done.

For Democrats, the risks associated with continued obstructionism are high.GOP dominance of American politics now extends to every level and branch of government from state legislatures and governors mansions (32, one short of the number needed to call for a Constitutional Convention) to the White House and soon, very likely, the US Supreme Court.

And the Democrats short-term prospects are bleak:In the 2018 mid-term elections, the Party faces the prospective loss of 10 or more Senate seats in states that Trump won five of them by double-digits.

But Democrats could actually get back in the game if they decided to work with Trump.Despite his conservative rhetoric, his governing agenda is not in lockstep with the GOPs and they know it.

Trump ran as a Republican, and naturally owes strong allegiance to the GOP. But hes no die-hard Republican and never has been. Why drive him into the arms of the GOP by refusing to work with him in areas where mutual compromise is clearly possible?

Of course, on hot button issues like abortion and immigration, Democratic base groups, including feminists and Latinos, see Trump as anathema. The very thought of cooperation of normalizing Trump is repugnant

But it shouldnt be.

Take foreign policy. For all his bombast and apparent Russophilia, Trumps instincts are decidedly non-interventionist. Like Obama, and unlike Bush, he clearly eschews the use of U.S. invasion forces to topple oppressive regimes. Like Obama, he is fond of US special operations forces and clandestine intelligence operators to do Americas military bidding when necessary.

Shorn of its hyper-nationalist sloganeering, America First looks a lot like Smart War, in fact.

On entitlements, Trump, unlike the GOP, is no big fan of reform. He largely supports the current Social Security system. In fact, thats one of the reasons he ran away with the over-55 vote last November.

And unlike most Republicans, Trump has said repeatedly that he supports womens reproductive health just not federal monies for abortion. Planned Parenthood, to its credit, is trying to figure out how to hold Trump to his promise.

On immigration, Trumps agenda even the wall shows more continuity with past bipartisan proposals than Democrats care to admit. Trump rightly cites the 1996 Jordan Commission on Immigration Reform instituted by Bill Clinton as well as 2006 legislation supported by the likes of Obama and Hillary Clinton for inspiration.

Democrats should strike a deal:Agree to a complete overhaul of the visa system plus expanded border and especially workplace enforcement the latter, long a missing pillar. But insist that Trump give the Dreamers the children of illegal immigrants who arrived in the US as children through no fault of their own a chance to stay.

Trump has already decided not to rescind Obamas executive order. Its an opening, Take it, and try to expand the groups including the 20-year long-stayers, illegals with deep roots in American society to which it might also apply.

And what of the wall?As Trump well knows, there are sections of the border that will not permit construction of a physical barrier, not even a fence.But through a combination of measures, and by drawing Mexico into expanded joint enforcement, outstanding gaps in the current border security system can be filled.

Labor rights is another area for potential cooperation.The GOP insists on a sweeping right-to-work agenda, but Trump is already on record supporting an increase in the minimum wage. He seems ready to give Americas building trades and other unions a huge role in the repair of Americas crumbling infrastructure a big-ticket funding item that will yield gains for both parties.

Trump and the Democrats do have areas of disagreement, most obviously Obamacare, but only in principle. Trump has already come out in opposition to eliminating the laws most popular features. Thats one reason the White House and the GOP have punted on further action on repeal for now.

Democrats need to get out of denial: The country has tilted sharply conservative and wants to give Trump a chance to govern. Working with Trump to fashion the semblance of a policy consensus on key issues might help Democrats become part of an expanded political center. Over time, it might even help drive a wedge between Trump and much of the GOP.

Displays of defiance and militancy are certainly cathartic for Democrats.They expected to win last November and theyre still grieving.But continuing to live in a political fantasy world the same besetting evil of which they accuse Trump promises only more disarray.

Read the rest here:
Democrats: Work With Trump Or Risk Further Disarray - Daily Caller

Democrats must say outright that illegal immigration is not OK. Its a problem, and the place to enforce the laws is the employment office, not the Mexican border.

Donald Trumps roundup of undocumented immigrants is cruel and racist in its execution. His plan to build a wall along the Mexican border would be a massive waste of at least 14 billion taxpayer dollars.

But that doesnt give Democrats a free pass to fudge on the issue of illegal immigration. They need to say, We support a generous immigration program, but people without the proper papers cannot come here and take jobs.

Such a policy would not turn this country into a xenophobic police state. It would make the U.S. more like Canada and Australia, two pleasant democracies that take in large numbers of newcomers but dont tolerate illegal immigration.

Democrats dont say theyre for illegal immigration. But many finesse the subject by instead expressing support for comprehensive immigration reform. As policy, thats a sensible stance: Legalize most of the undocumented immigrants while ensuring enforcement of the law going forward.

But comprehensive reform is too indirect a term. Democrats must say outright that illegal immigration is not OK. Its a problem.

A bipartisan bill for such reform passed the Senate but was killed in the House. It would have forced all employers to use the E-Verify system, a database that confirms the right of new hires to work here. The place to enforce the immigration laws is the employment office, not the Mexican border. Over 40 percent of unauthorized workers arrived legally (many by air) but then overstayed their visas.

Polls show Americans overwhelmingly open to immigration and greatly opposed to illegal immigration. Candidate Hillary Clinton did herself no favors by all but ignoring the difference.

Some diversity liberals join with cheap-labor conservatives in arguing (implausibly) that a massive influx of low-skilled workers hasnt hurt the job prospects or pay of low-skilled American workers. They generally avoid the question of why the low-paying jobs that Americans allegedly dont want to do are low-paying.

Interestingly, Bernie Sanders has drawn some liberal fire for discarding that nonsense. Citing the real unemployment numbers for recent high-school graduates 33 percent for whites, 36 percent for Hispanics, 51 percent for African-Americans Sanders told an interviewer: You think we should open the borders and bring in a lot of low-wage workers? Or do you think maybe we should try to get jobs for those kids?

The Trump approach, meanwhile, is long on spectacle, short on humanity. Heres what else is wrong with it:

The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. peaked in 2007 and has been coming down ever since. So this is not a crisis that couldnt be handled with the gentler comprehensive reform.

More Mexicans have been leaving than are coming in. Trumps wall folly seems like just another opportunity to beat up on brown people.

Most unauthorized immigrants are now from countries other than Mexico. Asia currently accounts for the highest growth rate in unauthorized immigration.

Hiring undocumented workers happens to be illegal, but Trump isnt arresting the employers. (Trump himself got away with using an illegal workforce while building Trump Tower.)

But here are some truths that Democrats must heed:

Some 77 percent of Americans support immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship, according to the American Values Atlas. But a Harvard-Harris poll shows a huge majority (80 percent) opposed to sanctuary cities municipalities that dont let local police report undocumented immigrants they encounter to federal agents.

Clearly, the issue isnt pro-immigrant versus anti-immigrant. The issue is legal immigration versus illegal immigration.

The open borders position, Sanders explained, says, essentially, there is no United States. The public wants there to be a United States that protects its workers. Democrats should agree with that and out loud.

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Democrats, man up on illegal immigration and enforce it in the workplace - The Seattle Times