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Poll: Democrat Anger Towards Washington Politics Quadruples from Year-Ago CNSNews.com (blog) Democrats are several times more likely to be perceived as angry about Washington politics than are Republicans - even by their fellow Democrats - a new Monmouth University survey shows. In general, 53% of Americans now say that all (9%) or most (44%) ...

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Poll: Democrat Anger Towards Washington Politics Quadruples from Year-Ago - CNSNews.com (blog)

As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tries to cobble the votes for a filibuster against President Trumps Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch, he might find that some heavyweights in his party arent all that enthused about the idea. Moreover, blocking a qualified nominee for the sake of screwing over Trump will only push Senate Republicans to nuke the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations, thereby ensuing that if a second vacancy opens upand that is possiblethe GOP will have no problems tilting the balance of the Court decidedly rightward. The Left is fighting a conservative who is filling a vacancyleft by a conservative. Congressional Democrats had very little powder to fight Trump, but after the death of heath care reform, they may be reevaluating their arsenal. In this case, its still an overreach, though Ill let Guy handle the deep dive on this later.

As for top Senate Democrats who arent inclined to support a filibuster, one of them is Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT), who said that he probably wouldnt vote for Gorsuch, but is not onboard with this inane attempt to block him (via VT Diggers):

I am not inclined to filibuster, even though Im not inclined to vote for him, Leahy said.

Arcane Senate rules currently hold that any Supreme Court nominee must receive 60 votes before he or she can be given a confirmation vote on the floor. With Republicans holding a 52-seat majority, current rules dictate that eight Democratic senators must vote Yes in a cloture vote to bring Gorsuchs nomination before the Senate for a floor vote.

Around nine Senate Democrats said they support a hearing and a vote for Gorsuch, while the latter part of that statement remains to be seen. Could they be referring to the panel vote or do they actually mean cloture? If its cloture, then thats the ballgame. But Cortney wrote how Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said that Gorsuch will get an up-or-down vote, but fail to reach the 60-vote threshold (thats not what up-or-down means, Senator), noting that Senate Republicans will be forced to nuke the filibuster rules. Frankly, if Democrats want to force us to finish what Harry Reid started, then Im okay with that. Liberal America will be forced to accept a conservative Supreme Court majority for the next generation.

Someone familiar with the process told Townhall that while the Democrats are beating their chests about a filibuster, its still far from a sure thing. There are scores of red state Democrats running for re-election next year in states that Trump won decidedly, who may not be happy about Schumers attempt to Stuka dive bomb Gorsuch.

These Democratic claims about him not getting 60 votes I think are premature. Could definitely happen, but Leahy said today he's not inclined to back a filibuster, this source said. If you combine that with other like-minded Democrats who don't want to let GOP go nuclear on Gorsuch, plus the Trump-state guys (Manchin, Heitkamp, Tester, Donnelly, McCaskill) getting 60 [votes] seems feasible. I'd say 35% chance, which is a lot more than guys like Coons & [DNC chair] Tom Perez are giving it.

So, theres a prediction that Senate Democrats have a 35 percent chance of successfully pulling this off. Conventional wisdom says to fight another day (i.e. the second vacancy), but the progressive base is demanding all-out war. While Republicans were embarrassed by health care, it looks as if Democrats are running full steam into an iceberg on Gorsuch.

Gorsuch Vote Delayed By One Week

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Senior Senate Democrat: I'm Not Inclined To Support A Filibuster on Gorsuch - Townhall

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Top Democrat says Russia probe went 'off the rails' New York Post WASHINGTON The House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election is off the rails and its credibility is in doubt, according to the top Democrat on the committee. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif ... Democrats call for independent Russian probe apart from CongressUSA TODAY Top Democrat on intel panel: House Russia probe went 'off the rails'Washington Examiner Top House intelligence Democrat rebukes Nunes: 'This is deeply troubling'CNBC New York Times -Washington Post -CBS News -TIME all 2,040 news articles »

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Top Democrat says Russia probe went 'off the rails' - New York Post

Its been fourand ahalf months since they suffered devastating losses at the polls, but party leaders said Saturday night at the Scott County Democratic Partys Red, White and Blue fundraising dinner theyre determined to turn things around next year.

About 250 people turned out for the fundraiser at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds.

Much of the evening was spent lambasting Republicans who are in control of government in Washington, D.C., and Des Moines. Citing proposals to kill the Affordable Care Act to a voter identification bill in Iowa, Democratic leaders urged activists to organize and fight back.

We have to stop this nonsense, said Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, the only Democrat in Iowas congressional delegation.

Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat who just formed a group to advocate elimination of the Electoral College, told the crowd that it was time for a new voting rights act.

Some Democrats have called for changing how the nation votes for president after President Donald Trump won the presidency but lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Feingold acknowledged Saturday the Electoral College puts a spotlight on smaller states like Iowa and Wisconsin, but he asked, hows that working out for us? Not so well.

Democrats did some celebrating at the dinner. A number of speakers noted the failure Friday of House Republicans to get a bill passed repealing the Affordable Care Act.

What a great victory for democracy, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said.

Still, Democrats are in a state of transition in the aftermath of last year's losses. The Iowa Democratic Party has a new chair. So does the Democratic National Committee, having just chosen Tom Perez.

DNC Vice Chairman Michael Blake was the evenings keynote speaker. Blake, who worked for former President Barack Obama in Iowa during the 2008 cycle, said beforehand the party is dedicated to work with Iowans and not just during presidential elections.

"We recognize if you want to have real success, you cant just be here for presidential elections, you cant just be here for the caucus, you have to be here all the time," he said.

A handful of Democrats who are being mentioned as possible candidates for governor also were on hand, including State Rep. Todd Prichard, D-Charles City, state Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, Jon Neiderbach, a former school board president from Des Moines, and former Iowa Democratic Party Chair Andy McGuire of Des Moines.

Prichard, who grew up in Davenport, announced last Thursday hes formed an exploratory committee. Neiderbach already has said he's running.

They spoke later into the evening.

Davenport Alderman Mike Matson, who represents the city's 7th Ward, also said Saturday that he is considering running for governor. Beforehand, Matson said his experience at City Hall, in the military and in education would be a plus. I think I would be a good leader, he said.

Matson said he could make a decision whether to run by the end of summer.

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Democrats determined for 2018 | Government and Politics | qctimes ... - Quad City Times

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HOPE YEN

ASSOCIATED PRESS | March 27, 2017, 9:17AM

| Updated 1 hour ago.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump is hoping to drive his priorities forward following the crumbling of the Republican health care bill but GOP finger-pointing is rampant, underscoring how tough it will be to produce the unity the party will need.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, criticized the contrarian House Freedom Caucus on Monday, a day after resigning from the hard-right group because it helped sink the Republican health care effort.

"You can have your principles and then when it comes to voting, you have to compromise to get something passed," Poe said of the caucus, which has roughly three dozen members.

"It will continue to be the opposition party in the party," said Poe, who said he would have supported the measure. "We cannot be effective if we continue to vote no."

One Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., said Trump got bad advice "from some in leadership who said that some of us should not even exist up here. We need to be on a team and get a good product."

Brat said that could be done "in short order."

On the other side of the GOP spectrum, moderate Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., corroborated a New York Times report that Trump told him he was destroying the party by opposing the Republican bill.

"Well, it's just another day at the office for me, I guess," Dent said. Dent said the party's most conservative wing was never going to back the bill and that making concessions to them "alienated moderates."

The failed GOP bill, which party leaders withdrew shortly before a House vote that was doomed to failure, would have repealed much of former President Barack Obama's health care law. It would have voided its tax penalties on people for not buying insurance, tax increases on high earners and health industry firms, and expansion of Medicaid for low-income people. It would have also blocked federal payments to Planned Parenthood.

Trump initially focused blame for the measure's failure on Democrats and predicted a dire future for the current law. On Sunday, Trump turned his criticism toward conservative lawmakers for the failure of the Republican bill, complaining on Twitter: "Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!"

But there were mixed messages from the White House.

Trump aides said the president could seek support from moderate Democrats on upcoming legislative battles ranging from the budget and tax cuts to health care, leaving open the possibility he could revisit health care legislation. Whether he would work to repair Obama's law was a big question.

White House chief of staff Reince Priebus scolded conservative Republicans, explaining that Trump had felt "disappointed" with a "number of people he thought were loyal to him that weren't."

"It's time for the party to start governing," Priebus said. "I think it's time for our folks to come together, and I also think it's time to potentially get a few moderate Democrats on board as well."

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the Freedom Caucus, acknowledged he was doing a lot of "self-critiquing" after the health care defeat. He insisted the GOP overhaul effort was not over and that he regretted not spending more time with moderate Republicans and Democrats "to find some consensus."

Trump faces decisions on whether to back administrative changes to fix Obama's health care law or undermine it as prices for insurance plans rise in many markets. Over the weekend, the president tweeted a promise of achieving a "great healthcare plan" because Obamacare will "explode."

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Priebus did not answer directly regarding Trump's choice, saying that fixes to the health law will have to come legislatively and he wants to ensure "people don't get left behind."

"I don't think the president is closing the door on anything," he said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer offered to find common ground with Trump for repairing Obama's statute.

Schumer said Sunday that Trump must be willing to drop attempts to repeal his predecessor's signature achievement, warning that Trump was destined to "lose again" on other parts of his agenda if he remained beholden to conservative Republicans.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, suggested that if Trump changes, "he could have a different presidency."

On Saturday, Trump urged Americans in a tweet to watch Judge Jeanine Pirro's program on Fox News that night. She led her show by calling for House Speaker Paul Ryan to resign, blaming him for the defeat of the bill in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Priebus described the two events as "coincidental," insisting that Trump was helping out a friend by plugging her show and no "preplanning" occurred.

"He doesn't blame Paul Ryan," Priebus said.

Poe, Dent and Brat spoke Monday on CNN. Priebus spoke on "Fox News Sunday," and Schumer and Meadows appeared on ABC's "This Week."

___

Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey contributed to this report.

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Bitter GOP finger-pointing clouds path for Trump agenda - Santa Rosa Press Democrat